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THE QUAKER CITY;

OR, THE

MONKS OF MONK HALL.

A ROMANCE OF

PHILADELPHIA LIFE, MYSTERY AND CRIME.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS, AND THE AUTHOR S PORTRAIT AND AUTOGRAPH,

BY GEORGE LIPPARD.

AUTHOR OP "THE LEGENDS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION," "PAUL ARDENHEIM,

THE MONK OF WISSAHIKON;" "BLANCHE OF BRAND YWINE;" "WASHINGTON

AND HIS MEN;" "THE MYSTERIES OF FLORENCE;" "THE MEMOIRS OF A

PREACHER;" "THE EMPIRE CITY;" "THE BANK DIRECTOR S SON;"

"THE ENTRANCED; ""THE NAZARENE;" "LEGENDS OF MEXICO."

ffb American Novel has ever commanded so wide-spread an interest, as this work. It has been made
the subject of criticism wherever the English language is spoken. On one Jumd, it /uzs been denounced as
a work of the most immoral and incendiary character ; on the other, it has been elaborately praised, as a
painfully vivid picture of Life in the Great City. It is written in a graphic style, with its darker
passages relieved by portraitures of intense moral interest and beauty. But we advise the reader to refer
to the work itself. Let him survey its varied pages, and take in the wide panorama of its absorbing
plot, from the first chapter where thi Great Idea of the story is dimly shadowed, even to the last, where
that Idea is portrayed in all its ^tails. Although nil the characters of Philadelphia Life are introduced
the Lawyer, who takes fees from both sides : the Parson, wlioae private history gives the lie to his public
preaching; the Doctor, who commits a crime for money ; as well as the dishonest Merchant, the Swett-
Porger, the black-mail Editor, the Young Blood about town ; the Fence Keeper, (receiver of stolen good&,)
etc., etc.; yet has the author painted no living character in the pages of his work, but only the distinguish
ing features of the representatives of a class.

PHILADELPHIA:
LEARY, STUAET & COMPANY,

9 SOUTH NINTH STREET.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 187C, by

T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.

PREFACE TO THIS EDITION.

MY Publishers ask me to write a Preface for this new Edition
of the Quaker City. What shall I say ? Shall I at this time enter
into a full explanation of the motives which induced me to write
this Work ? Shall I tell how it has been praised how abused
how it has on the one hand been cited as a Work of great merit,
and on the other, how it has been denounced as the most immoral
work of the age ?

The reader will spare me the task. The Quaker City has passed
through many Editions in America, as well as in London. It
has also been translated and numerous editions of it have been
published in Germany, and a beautiful edition in four volumes,
is now before me, bearing the imprint of Otto Wigand, Leipsic,7 f
as Publisher, and the name of Frederick Gerstaker, as the Author.!

Taking all these facts into consideration, it seems but just that
I should say a word for myself on this occasion.

The motive which impelled me to write this Work may be stated
in a few words.

I was the only Protector of an Orphan Sister. I was fearful
that I might be taken away by death, leaving her alone in the
world. I knew too well that law of society which makes a virtue
of the dishonor of a poor girl, while it justly holds the seduction
of a rich man s child as an infamous crime. These thoughts im
pressed me deeply. I determined to write a book, founded upon
the following idea :

That the seduction of a poor and innocent girl, is a deed altogether
as criminal as deliberate murder. It is worse than the murder of the
body, for it is\the assassination of the soul^&gt; If the murderer de
serves death by the gallows, then the assassin of chastity and maiden
hood is worthy of death by the hands of any man, and in any place. V; .

This was the first idea of the Work. It embodies a sophism,
but it is a sophism that errs on the right side. But as I

(i)
F347044

PREFACE.

progressed in my task, other ideas were added to the original
thought. Secluded in my room, having no familiarity with the
vices of a large city, save from my studentship in the office of an
Attorney-General the Confessional of our Protestant communi
ties I determined to write a book which should describe all the
phases of a corrupt social system, as manifested in the city of
Philadelphia. The results of my labors was this book, which has
been more attacked, and more read, than any work of American
fiction ever published.

And now, I can say with truth, that whatever faults may be
discovered in this Work, that my motive in its composition was
honest, was pure, was as Destitute of any idea of sensualism, as
certain of the persons who have attacked it without reading a
single page, are of candor, of a moral life, or a heart capable of
generous emotions.^

To the young man and young woman who may read this book
when I am dead, I have a word to say :

Would to God that the evils recorded in these pages, were not
based upon facts. Would to God that the experience of my life
had not impressed me so vividly with the colossal vices and the ter
rible deformities, presented in the social system of this Large City,
in the Nineteenth Century. You will read this work when the
hand which pens this line is dust. If you discover one word in
its pages, that has a tendency to develop one impure thought, I
beseech you reject that word. If you discover a chapter, a page,
or a line, that conflicts with the great idea of Human Brotherhood,
promulgated by the Eedeemer, I ask you with all my soul, reject
that chapter, that passage, that line. At the same time remember
the idea which impelled me to produce the book. Remember that
my life from the age of sixteen up to twenty-five was one per
petual battle with hardship and difficulty, such as do not often fall
to the lot of a young man such as rarely is recorded in the
experience of childhood or manhood. Take the book with all its
faults and all its virtues. Judge it as you yourself would wish
\ to be judged. Do not wrest a line from these pages, for the
Encouragement of a bad thought or a bad deed.

GEORGE LIPPARD.

INSCRIBED TO THE MEMORY CF CHARLES BROCKDEN BROWH. j

3The origin auU object of tin s Booh.

ONE winter night I was called to the bedside of a dying friend. I found him
sitting up in his death-couch, pale and trembling yet unawed by the gathering
shadows of the tomb. His white hairs fell over his clammy brow, his dark grey
eye, glared with the unnatural light, which, heralds the approach of death. Old

K had been a singular man. He had been a profound lawyer, without fame

or judgeship. In quiet he pursued his dreamy way, deriving sufficient from his pro
fession, to support him in decency and honor. &lt;Jn a city, where no man has a
friend, that has not money to back him^the good old lawyer had been my friend.
He was one of those old-fashioned lawyers who delight to bury themselves among
their books,&lt;ivvho love the law for its theory, and not for its trick and craft and des
picable chicanery^ Old K had been my friend, and now I sat by his bedside

in his last hour.

[ " Death is coming," he said with a calm smile, " but I dread him not. My ac
counts with God are settled ; my face is clammy with the death-sweat, but I have
no fear. When I am gone, you will find in yonder deskFa large pacquet, in
scribed with your name. This pacquet, contains the records of my experience
as a private councillor and a lawyer, for the last thirty years.} You are young and
friendless, but *you have a pen&gt; which will prove your best friend. I bequeath
these Papers to you; they may be made serviceable to yourself and to the
world ] ^ k u.

In a faint voice, I asked the good old lawyer, concerning the nature of these
records.

" They contam(a full and terrible developement of the Secret Life of Philadel
phia. In that pacquet, you will find, records of crimes, that never came to trial,
murders that have never been divulged ; there you will discover the results of
secret examinations, held by official personages, in relation to atrocities almost
LOO horrible for belief ^-"

"Then," said I, "Philadelphia is not sojpurejas it looks l \."

" Alas, alas, that I should have to say it," said the old man with an expression
of deep sorrow, " But whenever I behold its regular streets and formal look, 1
think olj~The Whited Sepulchre, without all purity, within, all rottenness and dead
men s bones. Have you courage, to write a book from those papers ?*] ftV

" Courage 1"

T" Aye, courage, for the day has come, when a man dare not speak a plain
truth, without all the pitiful things of this world, rising up against him, with ad
der s tongues and treacherous hands. Write a book, with all your heart bent on
some good object, and for every word you write, you will find a low-bred calum-

4 THE ORIGIN AND OBJECT OF THIS BOOK.

niator, eager to befoul you with his slandersj Have you courage, to write a book
from the materials, which I leave you, which shall be devoted to these objects-
To defend the sanctity of female honor ; to show how miserable and corrupt is
o^.^ that Pseudo-Christianity which tramples on every principle ever preached or
practised by the Saviour Jesus ; to lay bare vice in high places, and strip gilded
crimes of their tinsel. Have you courage for this?"

I could only take the old man s hand, within my own, and murmur faintly,
"I ll try!"

"Have you courage, to lift&lt;the cover from the Whited Sepulchre, and while
the world is crying honor to its outward purity, to show the festering corruption
j that rankles in its depths ?&gt; Then those records are yours !"

- " jet, I sat beside the deathbed of the old man all night long. His last hours were

f* past in calm converse, full of hope and trust in God. Near the break of day, he

died. God bless him ! He was my friend, when I had nothing but an orphan s

gratitude, to tender in return for his friendship. He was a lawyer, and honest ;

I a Christian and yet no bigot ; a philosopher and yet no sceptic.

After his funeral, I received the pacquet of papers, inscribed with my name,
and endorsed, REVELATIONS OF THE SECRET LIFE OF PHILADELPHIA, being the re
cords of thirty years practice as a councillor, by * * * K .

The present book is founded upon those portions of th^Revelations, more in
timately connected with the present day.

|With the same sincerity; with which I have written this Book of the Quaker
^ City, I now give it to my countrymen, as an illustration of the life, mystery and

crime of Philadelphia^

:&lt;,

V-")

THE

MONKS OF MONK-HALL,

BOOK THE FIRST.

THE FIRST NIGHT.

MARY, THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

CHAPTER FIRST. and a very round face, illuminated by

a pear-shaped nose " Brandy is a
WAGER IN (THE OYSTER-CELLAR.) gentleman a per perfect gentle
man. He leaves no head-ache next
morning by way of a card. Cham
pagne s a sucker - - a hypocritical
scoundrel, who first goes down your
throat, smooth as oil, and then a

" I SAY, gentlemen, shall we make
a night of it t That s the question
gents. Shall we elevate the the
devil along Chesnut street, or shall we
.subside quietly to our homes ? Let s
toss up for it which shall have the
night brandy and oysters, or quilts
and feather-beds ?" And as he spoke,
the little man broke loose from the
grasp of his friends, and retiring to the
shelter of an awning-post, flung his
cloak over his shoulder with a vast
deal of drunken dignity, while his
vacant eyes were fixed upon the con
vivial group scattered along the pave
ment.

" Brandy" cried a gentleman
distinguished by a very pursy figure,
enveloped in a snow-white overcoat,

a very much so how d d

irregular these bricks are puts a
powder-mill in your head and blows
it up dam im ! Mem : Byrne-
wood d ye hear ? write to thercor-
poration/to-moirow, about these curst
mountainous pavements " And hav
ing thus said, the pursy gentleman re
treated to the shelter of another awning-
post, leaving the two remaining mem
bers of the convivial party, in full
possession of the pavement, which
they laid out in any given number of
garden-plots without delay.

" Byrnewood d ye hear ?" ex-
5

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

claimed the tallest gentleman of the
tivaio, gathorrr g his frogged overcoat
c-ioser around him, "while his mus
tachioed lip was wreathed in a drunken
smile " Look yonder at fthe state-
house] sing singular phenomenon]
There s the original steeple and
duplicate. Two steeples, by Jupiter !
Remarkable effect of moonlight ! Very
Doesn t it strike you, Byrnewood,
that yonder watch-box is walking
across the street, to black the lamp
post s eyes for for making a
face at him ?"

The gentleman thus addressed,
instead of replying to the sagacious
query of his friend, occupied a small
portion of his leisure time in perform
ing an irregular Spanish dance along
the pavement, terminating in a pleasant
combination of the cachuca, with a
genuine New Jersey double-shuffle.
This accomplished, he drew his well
proportioned figure to its full height,
cast back his cloak from his shoulders,
and turned his face to the moonlit sky.
As he gazed upon the heavens, clear,
cold, and serene as death, the moon
light falling over his features, dis
closed a handsome tho pallid face,
relieved by long curling locks of jet
black hair. For a moment he seemed
intensely absorbed amid the intricacies
of a philosophical reverie, for he fre
quently put his thumb to his nose, and
described circles in the air with his
outspread fingers. At last tottering
to a seat on a fire-plug, he delivered
himself of this remarkable expression
of opinion
. " Miller the Prophet s right ! Right

I say ! The world d n the plug,

how it shakes the world is coming
to an end for certain ^for, d ye see

I boys there s two moons shining up
yonder this blessed night sure as
fate"

The scene would have furnished a
tolerable good subject for an effective
convivial picture, f cM* &lt;4 - CJ ~ C

There, seated on the door-way step
of a four storied dwelling, his arms
crossed over his muscular chest, his
right hand grasping a massive gold-
headed cane, Mr. Gustavus Lorrimer,
commonly styled the nandsome Gus
Lorrimer, in especial reference to his
well-known favor among the ladies,
presented to the full glare of the
moonbeams, a fine manly countenance,
marked by a brilliant dark eye, a nose
slightly aquiline, a firm lip clothed
with a mustache, while his hat tossed
slightly to one side, disclosed a bold
and prominent forehead, relieved by
thick clusters of rich brown hair.
His dark eye at all times full of fire,
shone with a glance of unmistakeable
humor, as he regarded his friend
seated on the fire-plug directly opposite
the doorway steps.

This friend Mr. Byrnewood, as
he had been introduced to Lorrimer
was engaged in performing an extem
poraneous musical entertainment on
the top of the fire-plug with his fingers,
while his legs were entwined around
it, as though the gentleman was urging
a first-rate courser at the top of his
speed.

His cloak thrown back from his
shoulders, his slight though well-pro
portioned and muscular form, was
revealed to the eye, enveloped in
a closely fitting black frock-eoat.
His face was very pale, and his long
hair, which swept in thick ringlets to
his shoulders, was dark as a ravens

, THE vVAGER.

&lt;

wing, yet his forehead was high and
massive, his features regular, and his
jet-black eye, bright as a flame-coal.
His lips, now wreathing in the very
silly smile peculiar to all worshippers
of the bottle-god, were, it is true,
somewhat slight and thin, and when
in repose inclining to severity in ex
pression ; yet the general effect of his
countenance was highly interesting,
and his figure manly and graceful in
its outlines, although not so tall by
half-a-head as the magnificent Gus
Lorrimer.

While he is beating a tattoo on the
fire-plug, let us not forget our other
friends, Col. Mutchins, in his snow-
white overcoat and shiny hat ; and Mr.
Sylvester J. Petriken, in his glazed
cap and long cloak, as leaning against
opposite awning posts, they gaze in
each others faces and afford a beauti
ful contrast for the pencil of our friend
Darley.

Col. Mutchins face, you will ob
serve, is very much like a picture of a
dissipated full-moon, with a large red
pear stuck in the centre for a nose,
while two small black beads, placed
in corresponding circles of crimson
tape, supply the place of eyes. The
Colonel s figure is short, thick-set, and
corpulent ; he is very broad across the
shoulders, broader across the waist,
and very well developed in the region
of the hands and boots. The gen
tleman, clinging nervously to the op
posite awning post, is remarkable for
three things smallriess of stature,
shghtness of figure, and slimness of
legs. His head is very large, his
face remarkable for its pallor, is long
wad square looking as though it had

been laid out with a rule and compass
with a straight formal nose, placed
some distance above a wide mouth
marked by two parallel lines, in the
way of lips. His protuberant brow,
faintly relieved by irregular locks of
mole-skin colored hair, surmounted by
a high glazed cap, overarches two
large, oyster-like eyes, that roll about
in their orbits with the regularity of
machinery. These eyes remind you
of nothing more, than those glassy
things which, in obedience to a wire,
give animation to the expressive face
of a Dresden wax-doll.

And over this scene of quadruple
convivialism , shone the midnight moon ,
her full glory beaming from a serene
winter sky, upon the roofs and
steeples of the Quaker City. The
long shadows of the houses on the
opposite side of the way, fell darkly
along the street, while in the distance,
terminating the dim perspective, arose
the State-House buildings, with the
steeple shooting upward into the clear
blue sky.

" That champagne " hiccupcd
Mr. Petriken, clinging to the awning-
post, under a painful impression that it
was endeavoring to throw him down

That champagne was very strong
and the oysters Oh my "

" As mortal beings we are subject
to sud sudden sickness " observ
ed the sententious Mutchins, gathering
his awning-post in a fonder embrace.

" I say, Byrnewood how shall
we terminate the night ? Did I under
stand you that the d 1 was to be

raised? If so, let s start. Think how
many bells are to be pulled, how many
watch-boxes to be attacked, how many

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

curse the thing, I believe I m
toddied watchmen to be licked.
Come on boys ?"

" Hist ! Gus ! You ll scare the fire-
plug. He s trying to run off with me

the scoundrel. Wait till I put the
spurs to him, I say !"

" Come on boys. Let s go round
to Smokey Chiffin s oyster cellar and
have a cozy supper. Come on I say.
Take my arm, Byrnewood there,
steady here Petriken, never mind
the awning-post, take this other arm

now Mutchins hook Silly s arm
and let s travel "

But Mutchins who, by the way,
had been out in a buffaloe hunt the
year before was now engaged in an
imaginary, though desperate fight
with a Sioux warrior, whom he bela
bored with terrific shrieks and yells.

" D n the fool he ll have us

all imthe watch house) " exclaimed
Lorrimer, who appeared to be the
soberest of the party by several bottles
" Fun is fun, but this thing of cut
ting up shines in Chesnut street, after
twelve, when it keep steady Silly
amounts to yelling like a devil in
harness is un-un-der-stand me, no
fun. Come along, Mutchy my boy !"
And arm in arm, linked four
abreast, like horses very tastelessly
matched, the boon companions tottered
along Chesnut street, toward Smokey
Chiffin s oyster cellar, where they
arrived, with but a single interruption.

"Hao-pao-twel-o-glor-a-a-damuley
-mor /"

This mysterious combination of
sounds emanated from a stout gen
tleman in a slouching hat, and four
or five overcoats, who, with a small
piece of cord -wood in his hand met

our party breast to breast, as they were
speeding onward in full career.

" I say stranger do that over
again will yo ?" shrieked Petriken,
turning his square face over his
shoulder and gazing at the retreating
figure with the cord-stick and the
overcoats "Jist do that again if you
please. Let me go I tell you, Gus.
Don t you see, this is some dis-dis-
tinguished vocal -ist from London 1
What a pathos there is in his voice
so deep so full why Brough is
nothing to him ! Knock Wood, and
Seg-Seguin and Shrival and a
dozen more into a musical cocked-hat,
and they can t equal our mys-myste-
rious friend "

" I say you d better tortle on my
coveys " cried he of the great coats
and cord stick, in a subterranean
voice " Or p r aps, my fellers, ye d
like to tend Mayor Scott s tea-party
would ye ?"

"Thank you kindly " exclaimed
Gus Lorrimer in an insinuating tone,
" otherwise engaged. But my friend
if you will allow me to ask what
do you mean by that infernal noise you
produced just now ? Let us into the
lark ?"

The gentleman of the cord stick and
overcoats, was however beyond hear
ing by this time, and our friends
moved on their way, Byrnewood ob
serving in an under tone, somewhat
roughened by hiccups, that on his
soul, he believed that queer old cove,
in the slouched hat, meant by his
mysterious noise to impart the impor
tant truth that it was half -past ticelve
o clock and a moonlight morning.

Descending into Smokey Chiffin g
subterranean retreat, our friends were

THE WAGER.

wailed upon by a very small man,
with a sharp face and a white apron,
and a figure so lank and slender, thai
the idea involuntarily arose to the
spectators mind, of whole days and
nights of severe training, having been
bestowed upon a human frame, in order
to reduce it to a degree of thinness
quite visionary.

" Come my * Virginia abstraction
exclaimed Lorrimer " Show us into
a private room, and tell us what
yov ve got for supper "

" This way sir this way gents "
cried Smokey Chiffin, as the thin gen
tlemen was rather familiarly styled
" What got for supper ? Woodcock
air ? excellent sir. Venison sir ; ex
cellent sir. Oysters sir, stewed, sir,
fried sir, roasted sir, or in the shell
sir. Excellent sir. Some right fresh,
fed on corn-meal sir. What have sir ?
Excellent sir. This way gents "

fare, the host, attended by his cus
tomers, disappeared from the refrec-
tory proper, through an obscure door
into the private room.

There may be some of our readers
who have never been within the con
fines of one of those oyster-caverns
which abound in the Quaker City.
For their especial benefit, we will en
deavor to pencil forth a few of the
most prominent characteristics of the

" Oyster
Chiffin."

Saloon by Mr. Samuel

Lighted by flaring gas-pipes, it was
divided into two sections by a blazing
hot coal stove. The section beyond
the stove, wrapt in comparative ob
scurity, was occupied by two opposing
rows of boxes, looking very much
jKe conventual stalls, ranged side by

side, for the accommodation of the
brothers of some old-time monastery.
The other section, all light, and glitter,
and show, was ornamented at its ex
treme end, by a tremendous mirror,
in which a toper might look, time
after time, in order to note the various
degrees of drunkenness through which

An oyster-box, embellish
ed by a glorious display of tin signs
with gilt letters, holding out inviting
manifestations of "oysters stewed fried
or in the shell," occupied one entire
side of this section, gazing directly in
the face of the liquor bar placed oppo
site, garnished with an imposing array
of decanters, paint gilding, and glasses.
And the company gathered herel
Not very select you may be sure,
Four or five gentlemen with seedy
coats and effloresent noses were warm
ing themselves around the stove, and
discussing the leading questions of the

And as he thus delivered his bill of day ; two individuals whose visits to

the bar had been rather frequent, were
kneeling in one corner, swearing at a
very ragged dog, whom they could nt
persuade to try a glass of * Imperial
Elevator, and seated astride of a
chair, silent and alone, a young man
whose rakish look and ruffled attire
betrayed the medical student on his
first * spree was endeavouring to hold
himself steady, and look uncommonly
sober ; which endeavour always pro
duces, as every body knows, the most
ridiculous phase of drunkenness.

These Oyster Cellers are queer
things. Like the caverns of old story,
in which the Giants, those ante-dilu-
vian rowdies, used to sit all day long,
and use the most disreputable arts to
inveigle lonely travellers into then-
clutches, so these modern dens, are

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

3ccupied by a jolly old Giant of a de
canter, who too often lures the unsus
pecting into his embrace. A strange
tale might be told, could the stairway
leading down into the Oyster Celler
be gifted with the power of speech.
Here Youth has gone down laughing
merrily, and here Youth has come up,
his ruddy cheek wrinkled and his
voice quavering with premature age.
Here Wealth has gone down, and kept
going down until at last he came up
with his empty pocket, turned inside
out, and the gripe of grim starvation
on his shoulder. Here Hope, so
young, so gay, so light-hearted has
gone down, and came up transformed
into a very devil with sunken cheeks,
bleared eyes, and a cankered heart.
Oh merry cavern of the Oyster Celler,
nestling under the ground so close to
Independence Hall, how great the
wonders, how mighty the doings, how
surprising the changes accomplished
in your pleasant den, by your jolly
old Giant of a Decanter !

It is here in this Oyster Celler, that
we open the fearful tragedy which it
is the painful object of our narrative,
to tell. Here amid paint, and glitter
and gilding, amid the clink of glasses
and the roar of drinking songs, oc
curred a scene, which trifling and
insipid as it may appear to the casual
observer, was but the initial letter to
a long and dreary alphabet of crime,
mystery and bloodshed.

In a room, small and comfortable,
lighted by gas and warmed by a
cheerful coal-fire, around a table furn
ished with various luxuries, and garn
ished with an array of long necked
bottles, we find our friends of the con
vivial party. Their revel had swelled

to the highest, glass clinked against
glass, bottle after bottle had been ex
hausted, voices began to mingle to
gether, the drinking song and the
prurient story began to pass from lip
to lip, while our sedate friend, Smokey
Chiffin, sate silently on the sofa, re
garding the drunken bout with a glance
of quiet satisfaction.

"Let me see let me see" he
murmured quietly to himself " Four
bottles o Cham, at two dollars a bot
tle four times two is eight. Hum

hum. They ll drink six more.
Let s call it twelve altogether. Say
twenty-four shiners for supper and all.
Hum hum Gus pays for all.
That fellow Petrikin s a sponge.
Wonder when Col. Mutchins will call
for the cards ? Don t know who this
fellow Byrnewood is? New face
may be he s a roper* too? We ll
see we ll see."

" Give us your hand, Gus "
cried Byrnewood, rising from his seat
and flinging his hand unsteadily across
the table " Damme, I like you old
fellow. Never never knew until
to-night met you at Mutchin s room

wish I d known you all my life
Give us your hand, my boy !"

Calm and magnificent, Gustavus
extended his hand, and exclaimed, in
a voice, which champaigne could not
deprive of its sweetness, that it gave
him pleasure to know such a regular
bird as Mister Byrnewood ; great plea
sure ; extraordinary pleasure.

I * This genteel term is applied to a well
dressed edition of the vulgar stool-pigeon,
used by gamblers, to decoy the unwary into
their dens. The stool-pigeon is the loafei
decoy, the roper is very aristocratic, prevail*
jn the large hotel and is called a -r gentleman.

THE WAGER.

" You see, fellows, I believe I ll
take a spree for three days wont
go home, or to the store in Front
street. Mean to keep it up until after
Christmas. Wants three days o
Christmas mean to jolly ha
ha how the room reels "

" Gentle-men I don t know what
is the matter with me " observed
Petriken, who rested his elbows help
lessly on the table, as he looked around
with his square face, lengthened into
a vacant stare " There s somethin
queer a-goin on with my eyes. I
seem to see spiders lots o em
play in corner-ball with roaches. See
anything o the kind, Mutchins?"

" Why why " replied that sen
tentious gentleman as his red round
face was overspread by a commiserat
ing smile " Why the fact is Silly
you ve been drinkin . By the bye
does nt it strike you that there s some
thing queer going on with that gas
light. I say, Smokey, is nt there a
beetle tryin to mash his brains out
against that gas-pipe?"

" Gentlemen I will give you a
toast!" exclaimed Lorrimer, as he
stood erect, the bold outline of his
manly form, his handsome face, the
high forehead relieved by thick masses
of brown hair, the aquiline nose, the
rounded chin, and the curving lip
darkened by a mustache, all shown to
advantage in the glowing light
"Gentlemen fill your glasses no
heeltaps! WOMAN!"

"WOMAN!" shrieked the other
three, springing unsteadily to their
feet, and raising their glasses on high
"WOMAN! Three times three
hip-hip-hurrah !"

" Womer !" muttered Sylvester

Petriken * " Women tor ever ! when
we re babies she nusses us, when
we re boys she lathers us, when we re
men she bedevils and bewitches us !"

" Woman " muttered Colonel
Mutchins " without her what ud
life be ? A dickey without a plete, a
collar without starch !"

" We can t help it if we fascinate
em ?" exclaimed Byrnewood " Can
we Gus ?"

" All fate, my boy all fate. By
the bye set down boys. I ve got a
nice little adventure of my own to tell.
Smokey bring us some soda to
sober off with "

" Gentlemen " cried Petriken,
sinking heavily in his chair " Did
any of you see the last number of my
magazine? The Ladies Western
Hemisphere and Continental Organ.
Offers the following inducements to
sub subscribers one fashion-plate
and two steel engravings per number
48 pages, octavo Sylvester J.
Petriken, Editor and Proprietor, office
209 Drayman s alley, up stairs.
Damme, Mutchins, what s your idea
of fleas?"

There was not, it is true, the most
visible connexion between the Ladies
Continental Organ and the peculiar
insect, so troublesome to young
puppies and very small kittens, yet
as Mr. Petriken was not exactly
sober, and Col. Mutchins very far
from the temperance pledge, the idea
seemed to tickle them both immensely
and they joined in a hearty laugh,
which terminated in another glaat
from a fresh bottle of champagne.

" Let s have your story, Gus !*
shouted Byrnewood " Let s have
your story ! Damme life s but *

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

porcelain cup to-day we have it, to
morrow we hav nt why not fill it
with sweetness ?"

As he said this, in tones indistinct
with liquor he flung his long curling
hair back from his brow, and tossed
his glass unsteadily on high.

Life a porcelain cup, why not fill it
with sweetness? Great God of Mercy !
Could the terrible future, which was
to break, in a few brief hours, with all
its horrors, on the head of this young
man, who now sat unconsciously at
the drinking board, have at that mo
ment assumed a tangible form, it
would have stood like an incarnate
devil at his shoulder, its outstretched
hand, pouring the very gall of despair
into the cup of his life, crowding it to
the brim with the wormwood of death.

" Well boys for my story. It s a
story of a sweet girl, my boys a
sweet girl about sixteen, with a large
blue eye, a cheek like a ripe peach, and
a lip like a rose-bud cleft in two "

" Honor bright Gus. Damme, that s
a quotation from my last Ladies
Western Hem. Damme Gus "

"Byrnewood do hold poor Silly
down. There s this material differ
ence, boys, between a ripe peach or a
cleft rose-bud, and a dear little
woman s lips or cheek. A ripe peach
won t throb and grow warm if you lay
your cheek against it, and I never yet
heard of a rose-bud that kissed back
again. She s as lovely a girl as ever
trod the streets of the Quaker City.
Noble bust slender waist small
feet and delicate hands. Her hair?
damme, Byrnewood, you d give your
eyes for the privilege of twining your
hands through the rich locks of her
dark brown hair "

" Well, well, go on. Who is this
girl ; uncover the mystery !"

" Patience, my boy, patience. A
little of that soda if you please. Now,
gentlemen, I want you to listen atten
tively, for let me tell you, you don t
hear a story like mine every day in
the year."

Half sobered by the combined in
fluences of the soda water and the in
terest of Lorrimer s story, Byrnewood
leaned forward, fixing his full dark
eyes intently upon the face of Gus,
who was seated opposite ; while Col.
Mutchins straightened himself in his
chair, and even Petriken s vacant face
glowed with a momentary aspect of
sobriety.

" I see, boys, that you expect some
thing nice. (Smokey put some more
coal on that fire.) Well Byrnewood,
you must know I m a devil of a fellow

among the girls and and d n

the thing, I don t know how to get at
it. Well, here goes. About two weeks
ago I was strolling along Chesnut
street towards evening, with Boney
(that s my big wolf dog, you know ?)
at my heels. I was just wondering
where I should spend the evening ;
whether I should go to see Forrest at
the Walnut, or take a turn round
town ; when who should 1 see walking
ahead of me, but one of the prettiest
figures in the world, in a black silk
mantilla, with one of these saucy kiss-
me-if-you-dare bonnets on her head.
The walk of the creature, and a little
glimpse of her ankle excited my
curiosity, and I pushed ahead to get a
view of her face. By Jupiter, you
never saw such a face ! so soft, so
melting, and damme so innocent.
She looked positively bewitching in

THE WAGER.

that saucy bonnet, with her hair part
ed over her forehead, and resting each
cheek in a mass of the richest curls,
that ever hung from the brow of mor
tal woman "

" Well, Gus, we ll imagine all this.
She was beautiful as a houri, and
priceless as the philosopher s stone

" Byrnewood you are too impatient.
A pretty woman in a black silk man
tilla, with a lovely face peeping from
a provoking bonnet, may seem nothing
to you, but the strangest part of the
adventure is yet to come. As I looked
in the face of this lovely girl, she, to
my utter astonishment addressed me
in the softest voice in the world,
and "

"Called you by name?"

" No. Not precisely. It seems
she mistook me for some gentleman
whom she had seen at a country
boarding-school. I took advantage of
her mistake, walked by her side for
some squares along Chesnut street,
and "

" Became thoroughly acquainted
with her, I suppose ?" suggested
Byrnewood.

" Well, you may judge so, when I
mention one trifling fact for your
consideration. This night, at three
o clock, this innocent girl, the flower
of one of the first families in the city,
forsaking home and friends, and all
that these sweet girls are wont to hold
dear, will seek repose in my arms "

" She can t be much " exclaimed
Byrnewood, over whose face a look
of scornful incredulity had been gather
ing for some few moments past
" Pass that champagne, Petriken my
boy. Gus, I don t mean to oflend

you, but I rather think you ve oeen
humbugged by some slevver ? "*

A frown darkened over Lorrimer s
brow, and even as he sate, you might
see his chest heave and his form
dilate.

" Do you mean to doubt my word
Sir ?"

" Not at all, not at all. But you
must confess, the thing looks rather
improbable. (Will you smoke, Col. ?)
May I ask whether there was any
one in company with the lady when
first you met her ?"

" A Miss something or other I
forget her name. A very passable
beauty of twenty and upwards, and I
may add, a very convenient one, for
she carried my letters, and otherwise
favored my cause with the sweet
girl."

" And this sweet girl is the flower
of one of the first families in the
city?" asked Byrnewood with a half
formed sneer on his upper lip.

" She is " answered Lorrimer,
lighting a cigar.

" And this girl, to-night, leaves
home and friends for you, and three
hours hence will repose in your
arms?"

" She will " and Lorrimer va
cantly eyed a column of smoke wind
ing upward to the ceiling.

" You will not marry her ?"

" Ha-ha-ha ! You re ahead of me
now. Only a pretended marriage,
my boy. As for this life interest in
a womim, it don t suite my taste. A
nice little sham marriage, my boy, is
better than ten real ones "

(X cant term used by profligates for female
servants of indifferent cnaracter^

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

" You would be a d d fool to

marry a woman who flung herself in
your power in this manner. How do
know she is respectable ? Did you
ever visit her at her father s house ?
What is her name 1 Do enlighten us
a little "

* Your cute, my boy, mighty cute,
as the Yankee says, but not so cute
as you think. Her name? D ye
think I m so particularly verdant as to
tell it ? I know her name, could tell
you the figure of her fathers wealth,
but have never been mside of the
threshold of her home. Secret meet
ings, secret walks and even an assum
ed name, are oftentimes wonderfully
convenient."!

" Gus, here is a hundred dollar bill
on the Bank of North America. I am,
as you see, somewhat interested in
your story. I will stake this hundred
dollars that the girl who seeks your
arms to-night, is not respectable, is
not connected with one of the first
families in the city, and more than all
has never been any better than a com
mon lady of the sidewalk "

"Book that bet, Mutchins. You
heard it, Silly. And now, Byrnewood,
here is another hundred, which I will
deposit with yours in Mutchins hands
until the bet is decided. Come with
me and I ll prove to you that you ve
lost. You shall witness the wedding
ha, ha and to your own sense of
honor will I confide the secret of the
lady s name and position "

" The bet is booked and the money
is safe" murmured the sententious
Mutchins, enclosing the notes in the
leaves of his pocket-book " I ve
heard of many rum go s but this is
.he rummest go of all."

" If I may be allowed to use the
expression, this question involves a
mystery. A decided mystery. For
instance, what s the ladys name?
There is a point from which Hypo
thesis may derive some labor. What s
in a name as Shakspeare says. 1
say, gents, let s pick out a dozen
names, and toss up which shall have
it?"

This rather profound remark of
Mr. Petriken s was received with
unanimous neglect.

It was observable that during this
conversation, both Lorrimer and
Byrnewood had been gradually re
covering from the effects of their de
bauch. Lorrimer seemed somewhat
offended at the distrust manifested by
Byrnewood ; who, in his turn, appear
ed to believe the adventure just related
with very many doubts and modifica
tions.

Lorrimer leaned over the table and
whispered in Sylvester s ear.

" Damme damme my fellow"
murmured Sylvester, apparently in
reply to the whispered remark of his
friend "It cannot be done. Why
man its a penitentiary offence."

Lorrimer again hissed a meaning
whisper in the ear of the little man.

"Well, well, as it is your wish I ll
do it. A cool fifty, did you say ? You
think a devlish sight of the girl do
you then? I must provide myself
with a gown and prayer book ? I flat
ter myself I ll rather become them
three o clock, did you say?"

"Aye aye " answered Lorri
mer, turning to the rubicund face of
Col. Mutchins and whispering hurried
ly in his ear.

A pleasant smile overspread the

MARY.

face of the benevolent man, and his
pear-shaped nose seemed to grow ex
pressive for a single moment.

D d good idea? I ll be your

too-confiding uncle ? Eh ? Stern but
relenting? I ll bless the union with
my benediction Fll give the bride
away?"

" Come along Byrnewood. Here
Smokey is the money for our supper.
Mark you gentlemen, Mr. Petriken
and Col. Mutchins the hour is three

o clock. Don t fail me, if the d 1

himself stands in the way. Take my
arm Byrnewood and let s travel "

"Then * hey for the wedding.
Daylight will tell who wins !"

And as they left the room arm in
arm, bound on the adventure so sud
denly undertaken, and so full of in
terest and romance, Petriken looked
vacantly in Mutchins face, and Mutch-
ins returned the look with a steady
gaze that seemed to say * How
much did he give you, old boy ?

Whether Sylvester translated the
look in this manner, it is difficult to
tell, but certain it is, that as he poured
a bumper from a fresh bottle of cham
pagne, he motioned the Colonel to do
the same, and murmured in an absent
manner, or perhaps by way of a senti
ment, the remarkable words

" Fifty dollars ! Egad that ill buy
two steel engravings and three fashion
plates for the next number offthe
Ladies Western Hemisphere. ^ Eco
nomy is wealth, and the best way to
learn to fly is to creep creep very

low, remarkably low, d d low

always creep /"

CHAPTER SECOND.

MARY, THE MERCHANTS DAUGHTER.

LEANING gently forward, her shawl
falling carelessly from her shoulders,
and her bonnet thrown back from her
brow, the fair girl impressed a kiss on
the cheek of her father, while the
glossy ringlets of her hair mingled
their luxuriant brown with the white
locks of the kind old man.

The father seated on the sofa, his
hands clasping her slight and delicate
fingers, looked up into her beaming
face with a look of unspeakable affec
tion, while a warm glow of feeling
flushed over the pale face of the mo
ther, a fine matronly dame of some
forty-five, who stood gazing on her
daughter, with one hand resting on
the husband s shoulder.

The mild beams of an astral lamp
diffused a softened and pleasing light
through the parlor. The large mirror
glittering over the mantle, the curtains
of crimson silk depending along the
windows, the sofa on which the old
man was seated, the carpet of the
finest texture, the costly chairs, the
paintings that hung along the walls,
and in fine all the appointments of the
parlor, designated* the abode of luxury
and affluence.^

The father, who sate on the sofa
gazing in the face of his child, was a
man of some sixty years, with a fine
venerable countenance, wrinkled by
care and time, with thin locks of
snow-white hair falling along his high
pale forehead. In his calm blue eys,
looking forth from the shadow of a
thick grey eyebrow, and in the gene*
ral contour of his face, you rnigh*
trace as forcible a resemblance to his

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

daughter, as ever was witnessed
between an old man just passing
away from life, and a fair young
girl, blooming and blushing on the
very threshold of womanhood. The
old man was clad in glossy black,"
and his entire appearance, marked
the respectable merchant, - who, re-
tirinj; from active business, sought
in the quietude of his own home, all
the joys, that life, wealth or affection
united and linked in blessings, have in
their power to bestow.

The mother, who stood resting her
hand on her husband s shoulder, was,
we have said, a fine matronly dame
of forty-five. A mild pale face, a
deep black eye, and masses of raven
hair, slightly sprinkled with the silver
threads of age, parted over a calm
forehead, and tastefully disposed be
neath a plain cap of lace, gave the
mother an appearance of sweetness
and dignity combined, that was emi
nently effective in winning the respect
and love of all who looked upon her.

" Mary my child how lovely
you have grown !" exclaimed the
Merchant, in a deep quiet tone, as he
pressed her fair hands within his
own, and looked up in her face.

" Nonsense ! You will make the
child vain " whispered the wife
playfully, yet her face flushed with
affection, and her eyes shone an
answer to her husband s praise.

The girl was indeed beautiful.

As she stood there, in that quiet
parlor, gazing in her father s face,
she looked like a breathing picture of
youth, girlhood and innocence, painted
by the finger of God. Her face was
very beautiful. The small bonnet
thrown back from her forehead, suf

fered the rich curls of her brown hair
to escape, and they fell twining and
glossy along each swelling cheek, as
though they loved to rest upon the
velvet skin. The features were re
gular, her lips were full red and ripe,
her round chin varied by a bewitching
dimple, and her eyes were large, blue
and eloquent, with long and trembling
lashes. You looked in those eyes,
and felt that all the sunlight of a
woman s soul was shining on you.
The face was lovely, moist lovely, the
skin, soft, velvety, blooming and
transparent, the eyes full of soul, the
lips sweet with the ripeness of maiden
hood, and the brow calm and white
as alabaster, yet was there no re
markable manifestation of thought, or
mind, or intellect visible in the lines
of that fair countenance. It was the
face of a woman formed to lean, to
cling, to love, and never to lean on but
one arm, never to cling but to one
bosom, never to love but once, and
that till death and forever.

The fair round neck, and well-de
veloped bust, shown to advantage in
the close fitting dress of black silk,
the slender waist, and the ripening
proportions of her figure, terminated
by slight ancles and delicate feet, all
gave you the idea of a bud breaking
into bloom, a blossom ripening into
fruit, or what is higher and holier, a
pure and happy soul manifesting
itself to the world, through the round
ed outlines of a woman s form.

" Come, come father, you must not
detain me any longer " exclaimed
the daughter in a sweet and low-toned
voice " You know aunt Emily has
been teasing me these two weeks, ever
since I returned from boarding-school,

MARY.

to come and stay with her all night.
You know I was always a favorite
with the dear old soul. She wants to
contrive some, agreeable surprise for
my birth-day, I believe. Pm sixteen
next Christmas, and that is three days
off. Do let me go, that s a good
fecher "

"Had nt you better put on your
cioak, my love ?" interrupted the Mo
ther, regarding the daughter with a
look of fond affection " The night is
very cold, and you may suffer from
exposure to the winter air "

" Oh no, no, no, mother " replied
the fair girl, laughingly " I do so
hate these cloaks they re so bung
ling and so heavy ! I ll just fling my
shawl across my shoulders, and run
all the way to Aunt Emily s. You
know it s only two squares distant in
Third Street"

" And then old Lewey will see you
safe to the door?" exclaime4 the Mo
ther " Well, well, go along my dear
child, take good care of yourself, and
give my love to your Aunt "

" These old maids are queer things "
said the Merchant with a smile
" Take care Mary or Aunt Emily will
find out all your secrets "

And the old man smiled pleasantly
to himself, for the idea of a .girl, so
young, so innocent, having any secrets
to be found out, was too amusing to
be entertained without a smile.

A shade fell over the daughters
face so sudden and melancholy that
her parents started with surprise.

" Why do you look so sad, my
child ?" exclaimed the Father, looking
up in his daughter s face. " What is
there in the world to sadden ?/ow, my
Mary?"

"Nothing, father, nothing " mur
mured Mary, flinging her ibrm on her
fathers bosom and twining her. arms
round his neck as she kissed him
again and again " Only I was think
ing just thinking of Christmas,
and

The fair girl rose suddenly from
her fathers bosom, and flung her arms
hurriedly around her mother s neck,
imprinting kiss after kiss on her lips.

" Good bye mother I ll be back
I ll be back to-morrow."

And in an instant she glided hastily
to the door and left the room.

" Lewey is nt it very cold to night?"
she asked as she observed the white-
haired negro-servant waiting in the
hall, wrapped up in an enormous over
coat, with a comforter around his neck
and a close fur cap surmounting his
grey wool and chubby round face
"I m sorry to take you out in th
cold, Lewey."

"Bress de baby s soul " mur*
mured the old negro opening the door
" Habbent I nuss you in dese arms
when you warnt so high? Lewey
take cold ? Debbil a cold dis nigger
take for no price when a-waitin on
missa Mary "

Mary stood upon the threshold of
her home looking out into the cold
starlit night. Her face was for a mo
ment overshadowed by an expression
of the deepest melancholy, and her
small foot trembled as it stepped over
the threshold. She looked hiTrii dly
along the gloomy street, then cast her
glance backwards into tne entry, and
then with a wild bound she retraced
her steps, and stood beside her father
and her mother.

Again she kissed them, again flung

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

her arms round their necks, and again
bounded along the entry crying laugh
ingly to her parents " Good night
good night I ll be back to-mor
row."

Again she stood upon the threshold,
but all traces of laughter had vanished
from her face. She was sad and si
lent, and there were tears in her eyes.
At least the old negro said so after
wards, and also that her tiny foot,
when resting on the door-sill, trembled
like any leaf.

Why should her eye grow dim with
tears and her foot tremble ? Would
not that tiny foot, when next it crossed
the threshold, bound forward with a
gladsome movement, as the bride
sprung to meet her father and her
mother once again 1 Would not that
calm blue eye, now filled with tears,
grow bright with a joy before un
known, when it glanced over the hus
bands form, as for the first time he
stood in the fathers presence ? Would
not Christmas Eve be a merry night
for the bride and all her friends as
they went shouting merrily through
the luxuriantly furnishod chambers of
her fathers mansion? Why should
she fear to cross the threshold of her
home, when her coming back was to
be heralded with blessings and crown-
with love ?

How will the future answer these
trembling questions of that stainless
heart?

She crossed the threshold, and not
daring to look back, hurried along the
gloomy street. It was clear, cold,
starlight, and the pathways were com
paratively deserted. The keen winter
wind nipped her cheek, and chilled

seemed smiling her onward, and she
fancied the good angels, that ever
watch over woman s first and world-
trusting love, looking kindly upon her
from the skies.

After traversing Third street for
some two squares, she stood before an
ancient three-storied dwelling, at the

corner of Third and

streets,

with the name of Miss. E. Graham,
on the door plate.

"Leweyyou need nt wait "she
said kindly yet not without a deeper
motive than kindness to the aged
Negro who had attended her thus far

"I ll ring the bell myself. You
had better hurry home and warm
yourself and remember, Lewey, tell
father and mother that they need not
expect me home before to-morrow at
noon. Good night, Lewey."

" Good night, Missa Mary, Lor
Moses lub your soul " muttered the
honest old Negro, as, pulling his fur
cap over his eyes, he strode hqme-
ward "Dat ar babby s a angel, dat
is widout de wings. De Lor grant when\
dis here ole nigger gets to vander \

nigger gets to yande
firmey-ment dat is if niggers gets
dar at all he may be pinted to one
ob de benches near Missa Mary, so he
can wait on her, handy as nuffin
dats all. She s a angel, and dis here
night, is a leetle colder dan any night
in de memory ob dat genel man de
Fine Col ector nebber finds de berry
oldest inhabitant."

Thus murmuring, Lewey trudged
on his way, leaving Mary standing in
front of Aunt Emily s door. Did she
pull the bell? I trow not, for no
sooner was the negro out of sight, than
the tall figure of a woman, dressea in

for form, but above her, the stars |black, with a long veil drooping over

BYRNEWOOD AND LORRIMER.

ner face, glided round the corner and
stood by her side.

* Oh Bessie is that you ?"
cried Mary, in a trembling voice
" I m so frightened I don t know what
to do Oh Bessie Bessie don t you
think I had better turn back "

"He waits for you " said the
strange woman, in a husky voice.

Mary hurriedly laid her hand on the
stranger s arm. Her face was over
spread with a sudden expression of
feeling, like a gleam of sunshine, seen
through a broken cloud on a stormy
day, and in a moment, they were
speeding down Third street toward
the southern districts of the Quaker
City. Another moment, and the eye
might look for them in vain.

And as they disappeared the State
House clock rung out the hour of
nine.^ This, as the reader will per
ceive, was just four hours previous to
the time when Byrnewood and Lorri-
mer closed their wager in the subterra
nean establishment along Chesnut
street. To the wager and its result
we now turn our attention and the
readers interest.

CHAPTER THIRD.

BYRNEWOOD AND LORRIMER.

THE harsh sound of their footsteps,
resounding along the frozen pavement,
awoke the echoes of the State House
buildings,as linked arm in arm, Byrne-
wood and Lorrimer hurried along
Chesnut street, their figures thrown in
lengthened shadow by the beams of
the setting moon.

The tall, manly arid muscular figure
of Lorrimer, attired in a close-fitting
black overcoat, presented a fine con
trast to the slight yet well-proportioned
form of Byrnewood, which now and
then became visible as the wind flung
his voluminous cloak back from his
shoulders. The firm and measured
stride of Lorrimer, the light and agile
footstep of Byrnewood, the glowing
countenance of the magnificent Gus,
the pale solemn face of the young
Merchant, the rich brown hair which
hung in clustering masses around the
brow of the first, and the long dark
hair which fell sweeping to the very
shoulders of his companion, all
furnished the details of a vivid con
trast, worthy the effective portraiture
of a master in ourfeister-arO

" Almost as cold as charity, Byrne
wood my boy " exclaimed Lorri
mer, as he gathered Byrnewood s arm
more closely within his own " Do
you know, my fellow, that I believe
vastly in faces?"

"How so?"

" I can tell a man s character from
his face, the moment I clap my eye
on him. I like or dislike at first sight.
Now there s Silly Petriken s face
how do you translate it?"

"The fact is, Lorrimer, I know
very little about him. I was intro
duced to him, for the first time, at a
party, where he was enrapturing some
sentimental old maids, with a few
quires of sonnets on every thing in
general. Since that occasion I have
never met him, until to-night, when
he hailed me in Chesnut street, and
forced me into Mutchins room at the
United States Hotel. You know the
rest "

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

"Well, well, \*ith regard to Petri-
ken, a single word. Clever fellow,
clever, but like Mutchins, he sells for
a reasonable price. I buy them both.
By Jupiter ! the town swarms with such
fellows, who will sell themselves to
any master for a trifle. Petriken
poor fellow his face indicates his
character a solemn pimp, a senten
tious parasite. Mutchins is just the
other way an agreeable jolly old-
dog of a pander. They hire them
selves to me for the season I use
and, of course, despise them "

" You re remarks are truly flatter
ing to these worthy gentlemen !" said
Byrnewood, drily.

" And now my fellow, you may
think me insincere, but I tell you
frankly, that the moment I first saw
your face, I liked you, and resolved
you should be my friend. For your
sake I am about to do a thing which
I would do for no living man, and
possibly no dead one "

" And that is " interrupted Byrne-
wood.

"Just listen my fellow. Did you
s ever hear any rumors of a queer old
house down town, kept by a reputable
old lady, and supported by the purses
of goodly citizens, whose names you
never hear without the addition of
* respectable, * celebrated, or ha
ha * pious mosi l pious ? A
queer old house my good fellow,
where, during the long hours of the
winter nights, your husband, so kind
and good, forgets his wife, your mer
chant his ledger, your lawyer his
quibbles, your parson his prayers ? A
queer old house, my good fellow,
where wine and woman mingle their
attractions, where at once you sip the

honey from a red-lip, and a sparkling
bubble from the champagne ? Where
luxuriantly-furnished chambers re
sound all night long with the rustling
of cards, or the clink of glasses, or
it may be the gentle ripple of
voices, murmuring in a kiss? A
queer old house, my dear fellow, in
short, where the very devil is played
under a cloak, and sin grows fat with
in the shelter of quiet rooms and im
penetrable walls " s

" Ha ha Lorrimer you are elo
quent ! Faith, I ve heard some rumors
of such a queer old house, but always
deemed them fabulous "

" The old house is a fact, my boy,
a fact. I Within its walls this night I
will wed my pretty bride, and within
its walls, my fellow, despite the pains
and penalties of our Club, you shall
enter "

" I should like it of all things in the
world. How is your club styled ?"

" All in good time, my friend. Each
member, you see, once a week, has
the privilege of introducing a friend
The same friend must never enter
the Club House twice. Now I have
rather overstepped the rules of the
Club in other respects it will require
all my tact to pass you in to-night.
It shall be done, however and mark
me you will obtain a few fresh ideas
of the nature of|the secret life of this
good Quaker City "J

"Why Lorrimer " exclaimed
Byrnewood, as they approached the
corner of Eighth and Chesnut " You
seem to have a pretty good idea ol
life in general "

"Life?" echoed the magnificent
Gus, in that tone of enthusiasm pecu
liar to the convivialist when recover-

BYRNEWOOD AND LORRIMER.

ing from the first excitement of the
bottle "Life? What is it? As
brilliant and as brief as a champagne
bubble ! To day a jolly carouse in an
oyster cellar, to-morrow a nice little
pic nic party in a grave-yard. One
moment you gather the apple, the
next it is ashes. [Every thing fleeting
apd nothing stable, every thing shift
ing and changing, and nothing substan
tial ! J A bundle of hopes and fears,
deceits and confidences, joys and
miseries, strapped to a fellow s back
like Pedlar s wares"

" Huzza ! Bravo the Reverend
Gus Lorrimer preaches. And what
moral does your reverence deduce
from all this!"

"One word, my fellow ENJOY!
Enjoy till the last nerve loses its deli
cacy of sense ; enjoy till the last sinew
ie unstrung ; enjoy till the eye flings out
its last glance, till the voice cracks and
the blood stagnates ; enjoy, always
enjoy, and at last "

" Aye, aye that terrible at last

" At last, when you can enjoy no
longer, creep into a nice cozy house.
*ome eight feet deep, by six long and
two wide, wrap yourself up in a com
fortable quilt of white, and tell the
worms those jolly gleaners of the
scraps of the feast of life that they
may fall to and be d d to em "

" Ha ha Lorrimer ! Who
would have thought this of you ?"

" Tell me, my fellow, what busi-
ne&s do you follow ?"

" Rather an abrupt question. How-
\ cvei, I m the junior partner in the
\importing house of Livingston, Har-
irey, & Co., along Front street "

" And I " replied Gustavus slow

ly and with deliberation " &nd 1 am
junior and senior partner m a snug
little wholesale business of my own. ,
The firm is Lorrimer, & Co. the
place of business is everywhere about
town and the business itself is en
joyment, nothing but enjoyment ;
wine and woman forever! And as
for the capital I ve an unassuming
sum of one hundred thousand dollars,
am independent of all relations, and
bid fair to live at least a score of years
longer. Now my fellow, you know
me come, spice us up a few of your
own secrets. Have you no interest
ing little amour for my private ear ?"

" By Heaven, I d forgotten all about
it!" cried Bynewood starting aside
from his companion as they stood in
the full glare of the gas-lamp at the
corner of Eighth and Chesnut street
"I d forgotten all about the letter !"

" The letter ? What letter ?"

" Why just before Petriken hailed
me in Chesnut street this evening
or rather last evening a letter was
placed in my hands, which I neglected
to read. I know the handwriting on
the direction, however. It s from a
dear little love of a girl, who, some six
months ago, was afsejvantVin my
father s house. A sweet girl, Lorri
mer and you know how these
things work she was lovely, inno-
ent and too confiding, and I was but
a man "j

"And she a slower; Rather a
low walk of business for you, my bey i
However, let s read the letter by iamp-
light-"

" Here it is &lt; Dear Byrnewood
[ would like very much to see you to
night. I am in great distress. Meet
me at the corner of Fourth and Ches-

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

nut streets at nine o clock or you will
regret it to the day of your death. Oh
4&gt;r God s sake do meet me Annie. 7
What a pretty hand she writes Eh !
Lorrimer ! That for God s sake 9 is
rather cramped and egad! there s
the stain of a tear "

" These things are quite customary.
These letters and these tears. The
dear little women can only use these
arguments when they yield too much
to our persuasions "

"And yet d n the thing

how unfortunate for the girl my ac
quaintance has proved! She had to
leave my father s house on account o

of the circumstance becoming
too apparent, and her parents are very
poor. I should have liked to have
seen her to-night, However, it will
do in the morning. And now, Lorri
mer, which way?"

" To the queer old house down
town. By the bye, there goes the
State House one o clock, by Jupi
ter ! We ve two good hours yet to
decide the wager. Let s spend hal
an hour in a visit to a certain friend
of mine. Here, Byrnewood, let me
instruct you in the mysteries of the
lark "

And, leaning aside, the magnificent
Gus whispered in the ear of his friend
with as great an appearance of m
as the most profound secret might
supposed to demand.

" Do you take, my fellow?"

^Capital, capital " replied Byrne-
wood, crushing the letter into his
pocket " We shall crowd this night
with adventures : that s certain ! !

The dawn of daylight it is true

closed the accounts of a night
somewhat crowded with incidents.

Did these merry gentlemen who stood
laughing so cheerily at the corner 01
Eighth and Chesnut streets, at the hour
of one, their faces glowing in the light
of the midnight moon, did they guess
the nature of the incidents which five
o clock in the morning could disclose ?
God of Heaven might no angel of
mercy drop from the skies and warn
them back in their career ?

No warning came, no omen scared
them back. Passing down Eighth
street, they turned up Walnut, which
they left at Thirteenth. Turning dowr
Thirteenth they presently stood before
a small old fashioned two storied
building, with a green door and a bulli
window, that occupied nearly the en
tire width of the front, protruding ill
the light. A tin sign, placed betweeft
the door and window, bore the inscrip-
tion, " *. *****, ASTROLOGER."

" Wonder if the old cove s in bed *
exclaimed Lorrimer, and as he spoktt
the green door opened, as if in answer
to his question, and the figure of a man,
muffled up in the thick folds of a cloak
with his hat drawn over his eyes,
glided out of the Astrologer s house,
and hurried down Thirteenth street.

" Ha ha devilish cunning, but
not so cunning as he thinks !" laughed
Byrnewood " I saw his face it s
old Grab-and-Snatch, the President of

the Bank, which every body

says is on the eve of a grand blow
up !" i

"The respectable old gentleman
has been consulting the stars with re
gard to the prospects of his bank
h a ha! However, my boy, the
door is open let s enter ! Let s
consult this familiar of the fates, this
intimate acquaintance of the Future !"

THE ASTROLOGER.

CHAPTER FOURTH.

THE ASTROLOGER.

]N a small room, remarkable for
the air of comfort imparted by the
combined effects of the neatly white
washed walls, the floor, plainly carpet
ed, and the snug little wood-stove
roaring in front of the hearth, sat
a man of some forty-five winters,
bending over the table in the corner,
covered with strange-looking books
and loose manuscripts.

The light of the iron lamp which
stood in the centre of the table, resting
on a copy of Cornelius Agrippa, fell
full and strongly over the face and
form of the Astrologer, disclosing
every line of his countenance, and
illumining the corner where he sat,
while the more distant parts of the
room were comparatively dim and
shadowy.

As he sat in the large old-fashioned
arm-chair, bending down earnestly
oyertji massive manuscript, covered
with strange characters and crossed
by intricate lines, the lampbeams dis
closed a face, which somewhat plain
and unmeaning in repose, was now
agitated by an expression of the deep
est interest. The brow, neither very
high nor very low, shaded by tangled
locks of thin brown hair, was corru
gated with deep furrows, the eye
brows were firmly set together, the
nostrils dilated, and the lips tightly
compressed, while the full grey eyes,
staring vacantly on the manuscript,
indicated by the glassy film spread
over each pupil, that the mind of the
Astrologer, instead of being occupied
with outward objects, was buried with

in itself, in tne contemplation of some
intricate subject of thought.

There was nothing in the dress of
the man, or in the appearance of his
room, that might realize the ideas
commonly attached to the Astrologer
and his den. Here were no melo
dramatic curtains swinging solemnly
to and fro, brilliant and terrible with
the emblazoned death s-head and cross-
bones. Here were no blue lights
imparting a lurid radiance *,o a row of
grinning skeletons, here were no
ghostly forms standing pale and erect,
their glassy eyes freezing the specta
tor s blood with horror, here was
neither goblin, devil, or mischievous
ape, which, as every romance reader
knows, have been the companions of
the Astrologer from time immemorial ;
here was nothing but a plain man,
seated in an old-fashioned arm chair,
within the walls of a comfortable room, )
warmed by a roaring little stove.

No cap of sable relieved the Astro
loger s brow, no gown of black velvet,
tricked out with mysterious emblems
in gold and precious stones, fell in
sweeping folds around the outlines of
his spare figure. A plain white over
coat, much worn and out at the elbows,
a striped vest no remarkable for its
shape or fashion, a cross-barred neck
erchief, and a simple linen shirt collar
completed the attire of the astrologer
who sat reading at the table.

The walls of the room were hung
with the Horoscopes of illustrious
men, Washington, Byron, and Napo
leon, delineated on large sheets of
paper, and surrounded by plain frames
of black wood; the table was piled
with the works of Sibly, Lilly, Cor
nelius Agrippa and other masters in

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

the mystic art ; while at the feet of
the Astrologer nestled a fine black cat,
whose large whiskers and glossy fur,
would seem to afford no arguments in
favor of the supposition entertained by
the neighbors, that she was a devil in
disguise, a sort of familiar spirit on
leave of absence from the infernal re
gions.

"I m but a poor man " said the
Astrologer, turning one of the leaves
of the massive volume in manuscript
which he held in his hand "I m
but a poor man, and the lawyer, and
the doctor, and the parson all despise
me, and yet " his lip wreathed with
a sneering smile " this little room
has seen them all within its walls,
begging from the humble man some
knowledge of the future ! Here they
come one and all the fools, pre
tending to despise my science, and yet
willing to place themselves in my
power, while they affect to doubt.
Ha-ha here are their Nativities one
and all That" he continued, turn
ing over a leaf " is the Horoscope
of a\ clergyman -r- Holy man of God !
He wanted to know whether he
could ruin an innocent girl in his con
gregation without discovery. And
that is the Horoscope of a lawyer, who
takes fees from both sides. His desire
is to know, whether he can perjure
himself in a case now in court without
detection. Noble counsellor! This
Doctor " and he turned over another
leaf " told me that he had a delicate
case m hand. A pretty girl has
been ruined and so on the seducer
wants to destroy the fruit of his crime
and desires the doctor to undertake
the job. Doctor wants to know what
moment will be auspicious ha-ha !"

And thus turning from page to page,
he disclosed the remarkable fact, that-
the great, the good, and the wise of
the Quaker City, who met the mere
name of astrology, when uttered ill
public, with a most withering sneer,
still under the cover of night, were-
happy to steal to the astrologer s
room, and obtain some glimpses of
their future destiny through the oracle
of the stars.

" A black-eyed woman lusty and
amorous wants to know whether
she can present her husband with a
pair of horns on a certain night? I
warned her not to proceed in her
course of guilt. She does proceed
and will be exposed to her husband s
hate and public scorn "

And thus murmuring, the Astrologer
turned to another leaf.

" The Horoscope of a puppy-faced
editor ! A spaniel, a snake, and an
ape he is a combination of the three.
Wants to know when he can run off
with a lady of the ballet at the theatre,
without being caught by his creditors 1
Also, whether next Thursday is an
auspicious day for a little piece of
roguery he has in view ? The peni
tentiary looms darkly in the distance

let the editor of the DAILY BLACK
MAIL beware "

Another leaf inscribed with a dis
tinguished name, arrested the Astrolo
gers attention.

" Ha ha ! This fellow is a man
of fashion, a buck of Chesnut street,
and and a Colonel ! He lives /
know how the fashionables who
follow in his wake don t dream of his
means of livelihood. He has conv-
mitted a crime an astounding crime

wants to know whether his asso-

THE ASTROLOGER..

ciate will betray him? I told him he
would. The Colonel laughed at me,
although he paid for the knowledge.
In a week the fine, sweet, perfumed
gentleman will be lodged at public ex
pense "

The Astrologer laid down the
volume, and in a moment seemed to
have fallen into the same train of
thought, marked by the corrugated
brow and glassy eye, tha* occupied
his mind at the commencement of
this scene. His lips moved tremulous
ly, and his hands ever and anon were
pressed against his wrinkled brow.
Every moment his eye grew more
glassy, and his mouth more fixedly
compressed, and at last, leaning his
elbows on the table with his hands
nervously clasped, his gaze was fixed
on the blank wall opposite, in a wild
and vacant stare that betrayed the
painful abstraction of his mind from
all visible objects.

And as he sat there enwrapt in
thought, a footstep, inaudible to his
ear, creaked on the stairway that as
cended into the Astrologer s chamber
from the room below, and in a mo
ment, silent and unperceived, Gus Lor-
rimer stood behind his chair, looking
over his head, his very breath hushed
and his hands upraised.

"In all my history I remember
nothing half so strange.- All is full of
light except one point of the future,
and that is dark as death!" Thus
ran the murmured soliloquy of the
Astrologer "And yet they will be
here to-night here here both of
them, or there s no truth in the stars.
Lorrimer must beware "

"Ha -ha ha " laughed a bold

and manly voice " An old stage
trick, that. You didn t hear my foot
steps on the stairs did you ? Oh no
oh no. Of course you didn t.
Come come, my old boy, that clap-
trap mention of my name, is rather
too stale, even for a three-fipenny- bit *
melo-drama "

The sudden start which the Astro
loger gave, the unaffected look of sur
prise which flashed over his features
at the sight of the gentleman of plea
sure, convinced Lorrimer that he had
done him rank injustice.

"Sit down, sir I have much to
say to you " said the Astrologer, in
a voice strikingly contrasted with his
usual tone, it was so deep, so full and
so calmly deliberate " Last Thurs
day morning at this hour you gave
me the day and hour of your birth.
You wished me to cast your horo
scope. You wished to know whether
you would be successful in an enter-
prise which you meditated. Am I cor
rect in this ?"

"You are, my old humbug that
is my friend " replied Lorrimer,
flinging himself into a seat.

" Humbug ?" cried the other with a
quiet sneer "You may alter your
opinion after a-while, my young friend.
Since last Thursday morning I have
given the most careful attention to
your horoscope. It is one of the most
startling that ever I beheld. You were
born under one of the most favorable
aspects of the heavens, born, it would
seem, but to succeed in all your
wishes ; and yet your future fate is
wrapt in some terrible mystery "

" Like a kitten in a wet blanket, for
instance ?" said Lorrimer, in the vain

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

endeavor, lo shake off a strange feel
ing of awe, produced by the manner
of the Astrologer.

"This night I was occupied with
your horoscope when a strange cir
cumstance attracted my attention.
Even while I was examining book
after book, in the effort to see more
clearly into your future, I discovered
that you were making a new acquain
tance at some festival, some wine-
drinking or other affair of the kind.
This new acquaintance is a man with
a pale face, long dark hair and dark

\eyes. So the stars tell me. Your fate
and the fate of this young man are
linked together till death. So the
heavens tell me, and the heavens
never lie."

" Yes yes my friend, very
good " replied Gustavus with a
smile "Very good, my dear sir.
Your conclusions are perfect your
prophetic gift without reproach. But
you forget one slight circumstance :
I have made no new acquaintance to
night! I have been at no wine-drink
ing ! I have seen no interesting young
man with a pale face and long dark
hair"

" Then my science is a lie !" ex
claimed the Astrologer, with a puzzled
look "The stars declare that this
very night, you first came in contact
with the man, whose fate henceforth is
linked with your own. The future
has a doom in store for one of ye.
The stars do not tell me which shall
feel the terror of the doom, but that it
will be inflicted by one of ye upon the
other, is certain "

** Well, let us suppose, for the sake
of argument, that I did meet this

mysterious young man with long black
hair. What follows?"

"Three days ago, a young man,
whose appearance corresponds with
the indication given by the stars of the
new acquaintance you were to make
this very night, came to me and de
sired me to cast his horoscope. The
future of this young man, is as like
yours as night is to-night. He too is
threatened with a doom either to be
suffered or inflicted. This doom will
lower over his head within three days.
At the hour of sunset on next Satur
day Christmas Eve a terrible
calamity will overtake him. At the
same hour, and in the same manner,
a terrible calamity will blacken your
life forever. The same doubt prevails
in both cases whether you will en
dure this calamity in your own per-
son, or be the means of inflicting its
horrors on some other man, doomed
and fated by the stars "

" What connection has this young
man with the { new acquaintance
which you say I have formed to
night ?"

"1 suspect that this young man
and your new acquaintance are one.
If so, I warn you, by your soul,
beware of him this stranger to you !"

" And why beware of me?" said a
calm and quiet voice at the shoulder
of the Astrologer.

As though a shell had burst in the
centre of that quiet room, he started
he trembled, and arose to his feet.
Byrnewood, the young merchant,
calm and silent, stood beside him.

" I warn ye," he shrieked in a
tone of wild excitement, with his grey
eyes dilating and flashing beneath

THE ASTROLOGER.

the woven eyebrows "I warn ye
both beware of each other ! Let
this meeting at my house be your last
on earth, and ye are saved! Meet
again, or pursue any adventure to
gether, and ye are lost and lost for
ever ! I tell ye, scornful men that ye
are, that ask my science to aid you,
and then mock its lessons, I tell ye,
by the Living God who writes his
will, in letters of fire on the wide scroll
of the firmament, that in the hand of
the dim Future is a Goblet steeped in
the bitterness of death, and that goblet
one or the other must drink, within
three little days !"

And striding wildly along the room,
while Byrne wood stood awed, and
even the cheek of Lorrimer grew
pale, he gave free impulse to one of
those wild deliriums of excitement
peculiar to his long habits of abstrac
tion and thought. The full truth, the
terrible truth, seemed crowding on his
brain, arrayed in various images of
horror, and he shrieked forth his in
terpretation of the future, in wild and
broken sentences.

" Young man, three days ago you
sought to know the future. You had
never spoken to the man who sits in
yonder chair. I cast your horoscope
I found your destiny like the des
tiny of this man who affects to sneer
at my science. My art availed me no
fuither. I could not identify you with
the man who first met Lorrimer this
night, amid revelry and wine. Now
I can supply the broken chain. You
and his new-formed acquaintance are
one. And now the light of the stars
breaks more plainly on me within
three days, one of you will die by the
other * hand "

Lorrimer slowly arose to his feet,
as though the effort gave him pain.
His cheek was pale, and beaded drops
of sweat stood on his brow. His
parted lips, his upraised hands and
flashing eyes attested his interest in
the astrologer s words. Meanwhile,
starting suddenly aside, Byrnewood
veiled his face in his hands, as his
breast swelled and quivered witn sud
den emotion.

Stern and erect, in his plain white
overcoat, untrjcked with gold or gems,
stood the Astrologer, his tangled brown
hair flung back from his brow, while,
with his outstretched hand and flash
ing eye, he spoke forth the fierce
images of his brain.

" Three days from this, as the sun
goes down, on Christmas eve, one of
you will die by the other s hand. As
sure as there is a God in Heaven, his
stars have spoken, and it will be so!"

" What will be the manner of the
death ?" exclaimed Lorrimer, in a
low-toned voice, as he endeavored to
subdue the sudden agitation inspired
by the Astrologer s words, while
Byrnewood raised his head and awaited
the answer with evident interest.

" There is the cloud and the mys
tery " exclaimed the Astrologer,
fixing his eye on vacancy, while his
outstretched hand trembled like a leaf
in the wind " The death will over
take the doomed man on a river, and
yet it will not be by water ; it will kill
him by means of fire and yet he will
not perish in the midst of flames "

There was a dead pause for a single
instant. There stood the Astrologer,
his features working as with a con
vulsive spasm, the light falling boldly
over his slight figure and homely attire,

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

and there at his side, gazing in his
face, stood Byrnewood, the .young
merchant, silent as if a speil had fallen
on him, while on the other side, Gus
tavus Lorrimer, half recoiling, his
brow woven in a frown, and his dark
eyes flashing with a strange glance,
seemed making a fearful effort to com
mand his emotion, and dispel the gloom
which the wierd prophecy had flung
over his soul.

"Pah! What fools we are! To
stand here listening to the ravings
a madman or a knave " cried
Byrnewood, with a forced laugh, as
he shook off the spell that seemed to
bind him "What does he know o
the future more than we? Eh?
Lorrimer? Perhaps, sir, since you
are so familiar with fate, destiny and
all that, you can tell us the nature o
the adventure on which Lorrimer is
bound to-night ?"

The Astrologer turned and looked
upon him. There was something so
calmly scornful in his glance, that
Byrnewood averted his eyes.

" The adventure is connected with
the honor of an innocent woman "
said the Astrologer "More than this
I know not, save that a foul outrage
will be done this very night. And
hark ye sir either the heavens are
false, or your future destiny hangs
upon this adventure. Give up the ad
venture at once, go back in your
course, part from one another, part
this moment never to meet again, and
you will be saved. Advance and you
are lost !"

Lorrimer stood silent, thoughtful
and pale as death. It becomes me not
to look beyond the veil that hangs be
tween the Vis ble and the Invisible, but

it may be, that in the silent pause of;
thought which the libertine s face mani
fested, his soul received some indica
tions of the future from the very
throne of God. Men call these sudden
shadows, presentiments ; to the eyes of
angels they may be, but messages of
warning spoken to the soul, in the
spirit-tongues of those awful beings
whose habitation is beyond the thres
hold of time. What did Lorrimer be-"
hold that he stood so silent, so pale,
of! so thoughtful? Did Christmas Eve,
and the River, and the Death, come
terrible and shadow-like to his soul ?
* Pshaw! Lorrimer you are not

f| frightened by the preachings of this
fortune-teller?" cried Byrnewood with
a laugh and a sneer " You will not
give up the girl ? Ha ha scared

f by an owl ! Ha ha What would
Petriken say ? Imagine the rich laugh
of Mutchins ha ha Gus Lorri
mer scared by an owl !**

" Give up the girl ?* cried Lorri
mer, with a blasphemus oath, that pro
faned the name of the Saviour
" Give up the girl? Never i She
shall repose in my arms before dav-
light! Heaven nor hell shall scare
me back ! There s your money Mister
Fortune Teller your croaking de
serves the silver, the d 1 knows !

Come on Byrnewood let us away."
" Wait till I pay the gentleman for
our coffins " laughed Byrnewood,
flinging some silver on the table
See that they re ready by Saturday
night, old boy? D ye mind? You
are hand-in-glove with some respecta-
i)le undertaker no doubt and can
him our measure. Good bye
old fellow good bye ! Now, Lorri
mer, away "

DORA LIVINGSTONE.

" Away, away to Monk-hall !"
And in a moment they had disap
peared down the stairway, and were
passing through the lower room to
ward the street.

" On Christmas Eve, at the hour of
sunset " shrieked the Astrologer,
his features convulsed with anger, and
his voice wild and piercing in its tones
" One of you will die by the other s
hand ! The winding sheet is woven,
and the coffin made you are rush
ing madly on your doom !"

CHAPTER FIFTH.

DORA LIVINGSTONE.

IT was a nice cozy place, that old
counting-house room, with its smoky
walls, its cheerful coal-fire burning in
the rusty grate, and its stained and
blackened floor. A snug little room,
illuminated by a gas-light, subdued to
a shadowy and sleepy brilliancy, with
the Merchant s Almanac and four or
five old pictures scattered along the
walls, an old oaken desk with im
mense legs, all carved and curled into
a thousand shapes, standing in one
corner, and a massive door, whose
glass window opened a mysterious
view into the regions of the ware
house, where casks of old cogniac lay,
side by side, in lengthened rows, like
jolly old fellows a* a party, as they
whisper quietly to one another on the
leading questions of the day.

Seated in front of the coal fire,
his legs elevated above his head, rest
ing on the mantel-piece, a gentleman,
of some twenty-fivs years, with his

arms crossed and a pipe in his mouth,
seemed engaged in an earnest endea
vour to wrap himself up in a cloak of
tobacco smoke, in order to prepare for
a journey into the land of Nod, while
the tumbler of punch standing on the
small table at his elbow, showed that
he was by no means opposed to that
orthodox principle which recognizes
the triple marriage of brandy, lemon
and sugar, as a highly necessary ad
dition to the creature comforts of the
human being, in no way to be despised
or neglected by thinking men.

You would not have called this gen
tleman well-proportioned, and yet his
figure was long and slender, you could
not have styled his dress eminently
fashionable, and yet his frock coat was
shaped of the finest black cloth, you
would not have looked upon his face
as the most handsome in the world,
and yet it was a finely-marked counte-
nance, with a decided, if not highly
intellectual, expression. If the truth
must be told, his coat, though fashion
ed of the finest tloth, was made a lit
tle too full in one place, a little too
scant in another, and buttoned up.
somewhat too high in the throat, for a
gentleman whose ambition it was
flourish on the southern side of
nut street, amid the animate" As
and silks of a fashionable r nade.
And then the large bla ,ck, en

circling his neck, wit 1 crumpled,
hough snow-white collar, gave

a harsh relief .4 countenance,
while the ca^ .y-disposed wrist
bands, crushes,, ack over the upturned
cuffs of his coat, designated the man
who went in for comfort, and flung
p ashion to the haberdashers and dry
goods clerks.

THE MERCHANT S DAU-GHTER.

full out

As for his face, whenever the cur
tain of tobacco smoke rolled aside, you
oeheld, as I have said, a finely-marked
countenance, with rather lank cheeks,
a sharp aquiline nose, thin lips, biting
and sarcastic in expression, a
square chin, and eyes of the peculiar
class, intensely dark and piercing in
their glance, that remind you of a
flame without heat, cold, glittering and
snake-like. His forehead was high
and bold, with long and lanky black
hair falling back from its outlines, and
resting, without love-lock or curl, in
straight masses behind each ear.

" Queer world this !" began our
comfortable friend, falling into one of
those broken soliloquies, generated by
the pipe and the bowl, in which the
stops are supplied by puffs of smoke,
and the paragraph terminated by a sip
of the punch " Don t know much
about other worlds, but it strikes me
that if a prize were offered somewhere
by somebody, for the queerest world
a-going, this world of ours might be
rigged up nice, and sent in like a bit
of show beef, as the premium queer
world. No man smokes a cigar that
ever tried a pipe, but an ass. I was
a small boy once ragged little devil
that Luke Harvey, who used to run
about old Livingstone s importing
warehouse. Indelicate little fellow :
wore his ruffles out behind. Kicked
and cuffed because he was poor
served him ri^ht dammim. Old
Liv. died young Albert took the
store capital, cool one hundred
thousand. Luke Harvey rose to a
clerkship. Began to be a fine fellow
well-dressed, and of course virtu
ous. D d queer fellow, Luke.
Last year taken into partnership along

with a young fellow whose
worth at least one hun. thou. c
Firm now Livingstone, Harvey, Ac
Co. Clever punch, that. Little too
much lemon d d it, the sugar s

" Queer thing, that ! Some weeks
ago respectable old gentleman in white
cravat and hump-back, came to count-
ng house. Old fellow hailed from
Charleston. Had rather a Jewish
wang on his tongue. Presented Liv-
ngstone a letter of credit drawn by a
Charleston house on our firm. Letter
from Grayson, Ballenger, & Co., for
a cool hundred thousand. Old white
cravat got it. D n that rat in the
partition why can t he eat his
victuals in quiet ? Two weeks since,
news came that G. B. & Co. never
gave such letter a forgery, a com
plete swindle. Comfortable, that. Hot
coals on one s bare skull, quite plea
sant in comparison. Livingstone in
New York been trying for a week
to track up the villain. Must get new
pipe to-morrow. Mem. get one with
Judas Iscariot painted on the bowl
Honest rogue, that. Went and hang
ed himself after he sold his master.
Wonder how full the town would be
if all who have sold their God for
gold would hang themselves ? Hooks
in market house would rise. Bear

queer fruit eh? D d good to-

bacco. By the bye must go home.
Another sip of the punch and I m off.
Ha ha good idea that of the hand
some Colonel ! Great buck, man of
fashion and long-haired Apollo. Called
here this evening to see me smelt
like a civet cat. Must flourish his
pocket-book before my eyes by way of
a genteel brag. Dropped a letter from

DORA LIVINGSTONE.

a bundle of notes. Valuable letter tbat
Wouldn t part with it for a cool thou
sand rather think it will raise th&lt;
devil let me see "

And laying down his pipe, Mr. Luke
Harvey drew a neatly-folded billet-
doux from an inside pocket of his
coat, and holding it in the glare of the
light perused its direction, which was
written in a fair and delicate woman s
hand.

" Col. Fitz-Cowles United States
Hotel " he murmured "good idea,
Colonel, to drop such a letter out of
your pocket-book. Won t trouble you
none? Spose not ha, ha, ha
d d good idea !"

The idea appeared to tickle him
immensely, for he chuckled in a deep,
self-satisfied tone as he drew on his
bearskin overcoat, and even while he
extinguished the gas-light, and covered
up the fire, his chuckle grew into a
laugh, which deepened into a hearty
guffaw, as striding through the dark
warehouse, he gained the front door,
and looked out into the deserted street.

" Ha-ha-ha to drop such a dear
creature s letter !" he laughed, lock
ing the door of the warehouse
" Wonder if it won t raise h 1 ? I
toved a woman once. Luke, you were

a d d fool that time. Jilted yes

jilted. That s the word I believe?
Maybe I won t have my revenge?
Perhaps not very likely not "

With this momentous letter, so
carelessly dropped by the insinuating
millionaire, Colonel Fitz-Cowles rest
ing on his mind, and stirring his fea
tures with frequent spasmodic attacks
of laughter, our friend, Mr. H&rvey,
pursued his way along Front street,
and turning up Chesnut street, arrived
3

at the corner of Third, where he halt
ed for a few moments in order to
ascertain the difference in time, between
his gold-repeater and the State House
clock, which had just struck one.

While thus engaged, intently peru
sing the face of his watch by the light
of the moon, a stout middle-aged gen
tleman, wrapped up in a thick over
coat, with a carpet bag in his hand,
came striding rapidly across the street,
and for a moment stood silent and
unperceived at his shoulder.

" Well Luke is the repeater right
and the State House wrong ?" said a
hearty cheerful voice, and the middle-
aged gentleman laid his hand on Mr.
Harvey s shoulder.

" Ah-ha ! Mr. Livingstone ! Is that
you ?" cried Luke, suddenly wheeling
round, and gazing into the frank and
manly countenance of the new-comer

" When did you get back from New
York?"

" Just this moment arrived. I did
not expect to return within a week
from this time, and therefore come
upon you by a little surprise. I wrote
to Mrs. L. yesterday, telling her I
would not be in town until the Christ
mas holidays were over. She ll be
rather surprised to see me, I suppose?"

" Rather !" echoed Luke, drily.

" Come Luke, take my arm, and
.et s walk up toward my house. I
rave much to say to you. In the first
place have you any thing new ?"

While Mr. Harvey is imparting his
budget of news to the senior partner
f the firm of Livingstone, Harvey &
Co., as they stroll slowly along Ches
nut street, we will make some few
notes of his present appearance.

Stout, muscular, and large-boned.

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

with x figure slightly inclining towards
corpulence, Mr. Livingstone strode
along the pavement with a firm and
measured step, that attested all the
matured strength and vigor peculiar
to robust middle age. He was six
feet high, with broad shoulders and
muscular chest. His face was full,
bold, and massive, rather bronzed in
hue, and bearing some slight traces of
the ravages of small -pox. Once or
twice as he walked along, he lifted
his hat from his face, and his fore
head, rendered more conspicuous by
some slight baldness, was exposed to
view. It was high, and wide, and
massive, bulging outward prominently
in the region of the reflective organs,
and faintly relieved by his short brown
hair. His eyes, bold and large, of a
.calm clear blue, were rendered strange
ly expressive by the contrast of the
jet-black eyebrows. His nose was
firm and Roman in contour, his mouth
marked by full and determined lips,
his chin square and prominent, while
the lengthened outline of the lower
jaw, from the chin to the ear, gave
his countenance an expression of in
flexible resolution. In short, it was
the face of a man, whose mind, great
in resources, had only found room for
the display of its tamest powers, in
enlarged mercantile operations, while
its dark and desperate elements, from
the want of adversity, revenge or hate
to rouse them into action, had lain still
and dormant for some twenty long
years of active life. He never dream
ed himself that he carried a hidden
hell within his soul.
[ Had this man been born poor, it is
probable that in his attempt to rise,
the grini hand of want would have

dragged from their lurking-places,
these dark and fearful elements of his
being. But wealth had lapped him at.
his birth, smiled on him in his youth,
walked by him through life, and the
moment for the trial of all his powers
had never happened. He was a fine
man, a noble merchant, and a good
citizen we but repeat the stereo
typed phrases of the town and yet,
quiet and close, near the heart of this
cheerful-faced man, lay a sleeping
devil, who had been dozing away
there all his life, and only waiting the
call of destiny to spring into terrible
action, and rend that manly bosom
with his fangs.

" Have you heard any news of the
forger?" asked Luke Harvey, when
he had delivered his budget of news
" Any intelligence of the respectable
gentleman in the white cravat and
hump-back?"

" He played the same game in New
York that he played in our city.
Wherever I went, I heard nothing but
Mr. Ellis Mortimer, of Charleston,
bought goods to a large amount here,
on the strength of a letter of credit,
drawn on your house by Grayson,
Ballenger, & Co., or that &lt; Mr. Mor
timer bought goods to a large amount
in such-and-such a-store, backed, by
the same letter of credit No less
than twelve wholesale houses gave
him credit to an almost unlimited ex
tent. In all cases the goods were
despatched to the various auctions and
sold at half-cost, while Mr. Ellis Mor
timer pocketed the cash "

" And you have no traces of this
prince of swindlers ?"

" None ! all the police in New York
have been raising heaven-and-earth to

DORA LlVINGSTONfc.

catch him for this week past, but with
out success. At last I have come to
the conclus on that he is lurking about
this city, with the respectable sum of
two hundred thousand dollars in his
possession. I am half-inclined to be
lieve that he is not alone in this busi
ness there may be a combination
of scoundrels concerned in the affair.
To-morrow the police shall ransack
every hiding-hole and cranny in the
city. My friend, Col. Fitz-Cowles
gave me some valuable suggestions
before I left for New York I will
ask his advice, in regard to the matter,
the first thing in the morning "

" Very fine man, that Col. Fitz-
Cowles " observed Luke, as they
turned down Fourth street " Splen
did fellow. Dresses well gives
capital terrapin suppers at the United
States inoculates all the bucks about
town with his style of hat. Capital
fellow Son of an English Earl
ain t he, Mr. Livingstone ?"

So I have understood " replied
Mr. Livingstone, not exactly liking the
quiet sneer which lurked under the
innocent manner of his partner "a
least so it is rumored "

" Got lots of money a millionaire
no end to his wealth. By the bye,
where the d 1 did he come from ?

Tsn t he a Southern planter with acres
of niggers and prairies of cotton ?"

" Luke, that s a very strange ques
tion to ask me. You just now asked
me, whether he was the son of an
English Earl did nt you ?"

" Believe I did. To tell the truth,
I ve heard both stories about him, and
some dozen more. An heir-apparent
to an English Earldom, a rich planter
from the South, the son of a Boston

magnifique, the only child of a rich
Mexican these things you will see,
don t mix well. Who the devil is our
long-haired friend, anyhow ?"

"Tut-tut Luke this is all folly.
You know that Col. Fitz-Cowles is re
ceived in the best society, mingles with
the ton of the Quaker City, is squired
about by our judges and lawyers, and
can always find scores of friends to
help him spend his fortune "

" Fine man, that Col. Fitz-Cowles.
Very," said the other in his dry and
biting tone.

" Do you know, Luke, that I think
the married men the happiest in the
world ?" said Livingstone, drawing
the arm of his partner closely within
his own " Now look at my case for
instance. A year ago I was a mise
rable bachelor. The loss of one hun
dred thousand dollars then, would have
driven me frantic. Now I have a
sweet young wife to cheer me, her
smile welcomes me home ; the first
tone of her voice, and my loss is for
gotten !"

The Merchant paused. His eye
t ^glistened with a tear, and he felt his
heart grow warm in his bosom, as the
vision of his sweet young wife, noM
so calmly sleeping on her solitary bed
rose before him. He imagined he?
smile of welcome as she beheld hio*
suddenly appear by her bedside ; he-
felt her arms so full and round twjiing
fondly round his neck, and he tried to

fancy but the attempt was vain -

the luxury of a kiss from her red ripe
lips.

"You may think me uxorious,
Luke " he resumed in his deep
manly voice " But I do think that
God never made a nobler woman than

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

my Dora ! Look at the sacrifice she
made for my sake ? Young, bloom
ing, and but twenty summers old, she
forgot the disparity of my years, and
consented to share my bachelor s-
home "

" She is a noble woman " ob
served Luke, and then he looked at
the moon and whistled an air from
the very select operatic spectacle of
Bone Squash. "

Noble in heart and soul!" ex
claimed Livingstone " confess, Luke
that we married men live more in an
hour than you dull bachelors in a
year "

" Oh yes certainly ! You may
well talk when you have such a hand
some wife ! Egad if I was nt afraid
it would make you jealous I would
say that Mrs. Livingstone has the
most splendid form I ever beheld "

There was a slight contortion of Mr.
Harvey s upper lip as he spoke, which
looked very much like a sneer.

"And then her heart, Luke, her
heart ! So noble, so good, so affec
tionate ! I wish you could have seen
her, where first I beheld her in a
/small and meanly furnished apart
ment, at the bed-side of a dying
mother ! They were in reduced cir
cumstances, for her father had died
insolvent. He had been my father s
friend, and I thought it my duty to
visit the widowed mother and the
orphan daughter. By-the-bye, Luke,
I now remember that I saw you at
their house in Wood street once
did you know the family ?"

" Miss Dora s father had been kind
to me " said Luke in a quiet tone.
There was a strange light in his dark

eye as he spoke, and a lemarkable
tremor on his lip.

"Well, well, Luke here s my
house exclaimed Mr. Livingstone,
as they arrived in front of a lofly four
storied mansion, situated in the aristo
cratic square, as it is called, along
south Fourth street. "It is lucky 1
have my dead-latch key. I can enter
without disturbing the servants. Come
up stairs, into the front parlor with
me, Luke ; I want to have a few more
words with you about the forgery "

They entered the door of the man
sion, passed along a wide and roomy
entry, ascended a richly carpeted
staircase, and, traversing the entry in
the second story, in a moment stood
in the centre of the spacious parlor,
fronting the street on the second floor.
In another moment, Mr. Livingstone,
by the aid of some Lucifer matches
which he found on the mantle, lighted
a small bed-lamp, standing amid the
glittering volumes that were piled on
the centre table. The dim light of the
lamp flickering around the room, re
vealed the various characteristics of
an apartment furnished in a style of
lavish magnificence. Above the man
tle flashed an enormous mirror, on
one side of the parlor was an inviting
sofa, on the other a piano ; two splen
did ottomans stood in front of the fire-
ess hearth, and, curtains of splendid
silk hung drooping heavily along the
;hree lofly windows that looked into
the street. In fine, the parlor was all
that the upholsterer and cabinet
maker combined could make it, a de-
Dository of luxurious appointments and
costly furniture.

" Draw your seat near the centre

DORA LIVINGSTONE.

table, Luke " cried Mr. Livingstone, I sented his letter of credit ; it was cash-
as he flung himself into a comfortable ted and we wrote to Grayson, Bal-

rocking chair, and gazed around the
room with an expression of quiet satis
faction " Don t speak too loud, Luke,
for Dora is sleeping in the next room.
You know I want to take her by a
little surprise eh, Luke ? She
doesn t expect me from New York
for a week yet I am the last person
in the world she thinks to see to-night.
Clearly so ha ha!"

And the merchant chuckled gaily,
rubbed his hands together, glanced at
the folding doors that opened into the
bed-chamber, where slept his bloom
ing wife, and then turning round, look
ed in the face of Luke Harvey with a
smile, that seemed to say I can t
help it if you bachelors are misera
ble pity you, but can t help it.

" It would be a pity to awaken Mrs.
Livingstone " said Luke fixing his
brilliant dark eye on the face of the
senior partner, with a look so meaning
and yet mysterious, that Mr. Living
stone involuntarily averted his gaze
"A very great pity. By the bye,
with regard to the forgery "

"Let me recapitulate the facts.
Some weeks ago we received a letter
from the respectable house of Grayson,
Ballenger, & Co., Charleston, stating
that they had made a large purchase
in cotton from a rich planter Mr.
Ellis Mortimer, who, in a week or so,
would visit Philadelphia, with a letter
of credit on our house for one hundred
thousand dollars. They gave us this

lenger, & Co., announcing the fact "
" They returned the agreeable an
swer that Mr. Ellis Mortimer had not
yet left Charleston for Philadelphia,
but had altered his intention and wag
about to sail for London. That the
gentleman in the white cravat and
hump-back was an impostor, and the
letter of credit a forgery. There
was considerable mystery in the al-
fair ; for instance, how did the impos
tor gain all the necessary information
with regard to Mr. Mortimer s visit,
how did he acquire a knowledge of the
signature of the Charleston house?"

" Listen and I will tell you. Last
week, in New York, I received a let
ter from the Charleston house an
nouncing these additional facts. It
appears that in the beginning of fall
they received a letter from a Mr. Al
bert Hazelton Munroe, representing
himself as a rich planter in Wain-
bridge, South Carolina. He had a
large amount of cotton to sell, and
would like to procure advances on it
from the Charleston house. They
wrote him an answer to his letter, ask
ing the quality of the cotton, and so
forth, and soliciting an interview with
Mr. Munroe when he visited Charles
ton. In the beginning of November
Mr. Munroe, a dark-complexioned
man, dressed like a careless country
squire, entered their store for the first
time, and commenced a series of ne
gotiations about his cotton, which

intimation in order that we might be ( had resulted in nothing, when another

prepared to cash the letter of credit at
eight. Well, in a week a gentleman
of respectable exterior appeared&gt; stated
that he was Mr. Ellis Mortimer, pre-

planter, Mr. Ellis Mortimer, appeared
in the scene, sold his cotton, and re
quested the letter of credit on our
house. Mr. Munroe was in the store

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

every day was a jolly unpretend
ing fellow familiar with all the
clerks and on intimate terms with
Messrs. Grayson, Ballenger, & Co.
The letter written to our house, inti
mating the intended visit of Mr. Mor
timer to this city, had been very care
lessly left open for a few moments on
the counting house desk, and Mr.
Munroe was observed glancing over
its contents by one of the clerks. The
day after that letter had been despatch
ed to Philadelphia, Mr. Albert H.
Munroe suddenly disappeared, and
had not been heard of since. The
Charleston house suspect him of the
whole forgery in all its details "

" Very likely. He saw the letter
on the counter forged the letter of
credit and despatched his accom
plice to Philadelphia without delay "
* " Now for the consequences of this
forgery. On Monday morning next
we have an engagement of one hun
dred thousand dollars to meet, which,
under present circumstances, may
plunge our house into the vortex of
bankruptcy. Unless this impostor is
* discovered, unless his connection with
this Munroe is clearly ascertained be
fore next Monday, I must look for
ward to that day as one of the greatest
danger to our house. You see our po
sition, Luke?"

"Yes, yes " answered Luke, as
he arose, and, advancing, gazed fixed
ly into the face of Mr. Livingstone
" I see our position, and I see your
position in more respects than one "

" Confound the thing, man, how
you stare in my face. Do you see
anything peculiar about my counte
nance, that you peruse it so attentive
ly?"

" Ha - - ha " cried Luke, with a
hysterical laugh "Ha ha! No
thing but horns. Horns, sir, I
say horns. A. fine branching pair !
Ha ha Way damn it, Living
stone, you won t tf. able to enter the
church door, next Sunday, without
stooping those horns are so d d
large !"

Livingstone looked at him with a
face of blank wonder. He evidently
supposed that Luke had been seized
with sudden madness. To see a man
who is your familiar friend and part
ner, abruptly break off a conversation
on matters of the most importance,
and stare vacantly in your face as he
compliments you on some fancied re
semblance which you bear to a full-
grown stag, is, it must be confessed,
a spectacle somewhat unfrequent in
this world of ours, and rather adapted
to excite a feeling of astonishment
whenever it happens.

"Mr. Harvey are you mad?"
asked Livingstone, in a calm deliberate
tone.

Harvey slowly leaned forward and
brought his face so near Livingstone s
that the latter could feel his breath on
his cheek. He applied his mouth to
the ear of the senior partner, and
whispered a single word.

When a soldier, in battle, receives
a bullet directly in the heart, he springs
in the air with one convulsive spasm,
flings his arms aloft and utters a
groan that thrills the man who hears
it with a horroi never to be forgotten.
With that same convulsive movement,
with that same deep groan of horror
and anguish Livingstone, the mer
chant, sprang to his feet, and confront
ed the utterer of that single word.

DORA LIVINGSTONE.

4 Harvey " he said, in a low tone,
mJ with white and trembling lips,
while his calm blue eye flashed with
that deep glance of excitement, most
terrible when visible in a calm blue
eye " Harvey, you had better never
been born, than utter that word again.
To trifle with a thing of this kind is
worse than death. Harvey, I advise
you to leave me I am losing all
command of myself there is a voice
within me tempting me to murder you
for God s sake quit my sight "

Harvey looked in his face, fearless
and undaunted, though his snake-like
eye blazed like a coal of fire, and his
thin lips quivered as with the death
Bpasm.

" Cuckold!" he shrieked in a hiss-
* ing voice, with a wild hysterical laugh.

Livingstone started back aghast.
The purple veins stood out like cords
on his bronzed forehead, and his right
hand trembled like a leaf as it was
thrust within the breast of his coat.
.His blue eye great God! how glassy
it had grown was fixed upon the
form of Luke Harvey as if meditating
where to strike.

"To the bedchamber " shrieked
Luke. " If she is there, I am a liar
and a dog, and deserve to die. Cuck
old, I say, and will prove it to the
bedchamber !"

And to the bedchamber with an even
stride, though his massive form quiver
ed like an oak shaken by the hurri
cane, strode the merchant. The fold
ing door slid back he had disap
peared into the bedchamber.

There was silence for a single in
stant, like the silence m the graveyard,
between the last word of the prayer,

and the first rattling sound of the clods
upon the coffin.

In a moment Livingstone again
strode into the parlor. His face was
the hue of ashes. You could see that
the struggle at work within his heart
was like the agony of the strong man
wrestling with death. This struggle
was tenfold more terrible than death-
death in its vilest form. It forced the
big beaded drops of sweat out from
the corded veins on his brow, it drove
the blood from his face, leaving a
black and discolored streak beneath
each eye.

" She is not there " he said,
taking Luke by the hand, which he
wrung with an iron grasp, and mur
mured again . " She is not there *\

"False to her husband s bed and
honor " exclaimed Luke, the agita
tion which had convulsed his face,
subsiding into a look of heart-wrung
compassion, as he looked upon the
terrible results of his disclosure
" False as hell, and vile as false !"

An object on the centre table, half
concealed by the bed-lamp arrested
the husband s attention. He thrust
aside the lamp and beheld a note, ad
dressed to himself, in Mrs. Living
stone s hand.

With a trembling hand the merchant
tore the note open, and while Luke
stood fixedly regarding him, perused
its contents.

And as he read, the blood came
back to his cheeks, the glance to his
eyes, and his brow reddened over with
one burning flush of indignation.

" Liar and dog !" he shouted, in
tones hoarse with rage, as he grasped
Luke Harv jr by the throat with 9

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

sudden movement " Your lie was
well coined, but look here ! Ha ha
" and he shook Luke to and fro like
a broken reed " Here is my wife s
letter. Here, sir, look at it, and I ll
fbrce you to eat your own foul words.
Here, expecting that I might suddenly
return from New York, my wife has
written down that she would be absent
from home to-night. A sick friend,
a school-day companion, now reduced
to widowhood and penury, solicited
her company by her dying bed, and
my wife could not refuse. Read, sir
oh read!"

" Take your hand from my throat
or I ll do you a mischief " mur
mured Luke, in a choaking voice as
he grew black in the face. " I will,
by God "

"Read sir oh read!" shouted
Livingstone, as he forced Luke into a
chair and thrust the letter into his
hands " Read, sir, and then crawl
from this room like a vile dog as you
are. To-morrow I will settle with
you "

Luke sank in the chair, took the
letter, and with a pale face, varied by
a crimson spot on each cheek, he be
gan to read, while Livingstone, tower
ing and erect, stood regarding him
with a look of incarnate scorn.

It was observable that while Luke
perused the letter, his head dropped
slowly down as though in the endea
vor to see more clearly, and his un
occupied hand was suddenly thrust
within the breast of his overcoat.

" That is a very good letter. Well
written, and she minds her stops "
exclaimed Luke calmly, as he handed
the letter back to Mr. Livingstone
"Quite an effort of composition. I

didn t think Dora had so mu&lt;,h
tact"

The merchant was thunderstruck
with the composure exhibited by tho
slanderer and the liar. He glanced
over Luke s features with a quick
nervous glance, and then looked at
the letter which he held in his hand.

" Ha ! This is not the same letter !"
he shouted, in tones of mingled rage
and wonder " This letter is address
ed to Col. Fitz-Cowles "

"It was dropped in the counting
house by the Colonel this evening "
said Luke, with the air of a man who
was prepared for any hazard " The
Colonel is a very fine man. A favorite
with the fair sex. Read it Oh
read"

With a look of wonder Mr. Living,
stone opened the letter. There was a
quivering start hi his whole frame,
when he first observed the hand-writ-
ing.

But as he went on, drinking in word
after word, his countenance, so full of
meaning and expression, was like a
mirror, in which different faces are
seen, one after another, by sudden
transition. At first his face grew crim
son, then it was pale as death in an
instant. Then his lips dropped apart }
and his eyes were covered with a
glassy film. Then a deep wrinkle
shot upward between his brows, and
then, black and ghastly, the circles of
discolored flesh were visible beneath
each eye. The quivering nostrils
the trembling hands the heaving
chest die man ever die with a strug
gle terrible as this ?

He sank heavily into a chair, and
crushing the letter between his fingers,
buried his fice in his hands.

DORA LIVINGSTONE.

"Oh my God " he groaned
" Oh my God and I loved her so !

And then between the very fingers
convulsively clutching the fatal letter,
there fell large and scalding tears,
drop by drop, pouring heavily, like
the first tokens of a coming thunder
bolt, on a summer day.

Luke Harvey arose, and strode hur-
xiedly along the floor. The sight was
too much for him to, bear. And yet
as he turned away he heard the groans
of the strong man in his agony, and
the heart- wrung words came, like
the voice of the dying, to his ear

" Oh my God, oh my God, and I
loved her so !"

When Luke again turned and gazed
upon the betrayed husband, he beheld
a sight that filled him with unutterable
horror.

There, as he sat, his face buried in
x his hands, his head bowed on his
breast, his brow was partly exposed
to the glare of the lamp-beams, and
all around that brow, amid the locks
of his dark brown hair, were streaks
of hoary white. The hair of the mer
chant had withered at the root. The
blow was so sudden, so blighting, and
so terrible, that even his strong mind
reeled, his brain tottered, and in the
effort to command his reason, his hair
grew white with agony.*

"Would to God I had not told
him " murmured Luke " I knew
rot that he loved her so I knew not
and yet ha, ha, / loved her
once "

" Luke my friend " said Liv
ingstone in a tremulous voice as he

* This is a fact, established by the evidence
of a medical gentlerrian of the first reputation.

raised his face "Know you anything
of the place named in the let
ter?"

" I do and will lead you there "
answered Luke, his face resuming its
original expression of agitation
" Come !" he cried, in a husky voice,
as olden-time memories seemed striv
ing at his heart " Come !"

" Can you gain me access to the
house to the the room ?"

" Did I not track them thither last
night ? Come /"

The merchant slowly rose and took
a pair of pistols from his carpet bag.
They were small and convenient
travelling pistols, mounted hi silver,
with those noiseless patent triggers
that emit no clicking sound by way
of warning. He inspected the percus
sion caps, and sounded each pistol
barrel.

"Silent and sure " muttered
Luke " They are each loaded with
a single ball."

"Which way do you lead? To
the southern part of the city ?"

" To Southwark " answered
Luke, leading the way from the par-
or " To the rookery, to the den, to
;he pest-house "

In a moment they stood upon the
door step of the merchant s princely
mansion, the vivid light of the Decem
ber moon, imparting a ghastly hue to
Livingstone s face, with the glassy
eyes, rendered more fearful by the dis
colored circles of flesh beneath, tho
furrowed brow, and the white lips, all
fixed in an expression stern and reso-
ute as death.

Luke flung his hand to the south,
and his dark impenetrable eyes shone
with meaning. The merchant placed

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

his partner s arm within his own, and
they hurried down Fourth street with
a single word from Luke
" To Monk-hall !"

CHAPTER SIXTH.

MONK-HALL.*

STBANGE traditions have come
down to our time, in relation to a
massive edifice, which, long before
the Revolution, stood in the centre of
an extensive garden, surrounded by a
brick wall, and encircled by a deep
grove of horse-chesnut and beechen
trees. This edifice was located on the
out-skirts of the southern part of the
city, and the garden overspread some
acres, occupying a space full as large
as a modern square.

This mansion, but rarely seen by
intrusive eyes, had been originally
erected by a wealthy foreigner, some
time previous to the Revolution. Who
this foreigner was, his name or his
history, has not been recorded by tra
dition ; but his mansion, in its general
construction and details, indicated a
mind rendered whimsical and capri
cious by excessive wealth.

The front of the mansion, cne plain
mass of black and red brick, disposed
like the alternate colors of n chess
board, looked towards the south. A
massive hall-door, defended by heavy
pillars, and surmounted by an intricate
cornice, all carved and sculptured into
hideous satyr-faces ; three ranges of

* No reader who wishes to understand this
itory in all ts details will fail to peruse this
tkapte\

deep square windows, with cumbrous
sash frames and small panes of glass ;
a deep and sloping roof, elaborate
with ornaments of painted wood along
the eaves, and rising into a gabled
peak directly over the hall-door, while
jits outlines were varied by rows of
substantial chimneys, fashioned into
strange and uncouth shapes, all
combined, (produced a general impres
sion of ease and grandeur that was
highly effective in awing the spirits of
any of the simple citizens^ who might
obtain a casual glance of the house
through the long avenue of trees ex
tending from the garden gate.

This impression of awe was some
what deepened by various rumors that
obtained through the southern part of
the Quaker City. It was said that
the wealthy proprietor, not satisfied
with building a fine house with three
stories above ground, had also con
structed three stories of spacious
chambers below the level of the
earth. This was calculated to stir
the curiosity and perhaps the scandal
of the town, and as a matter of course
strange rumors began to prevail about
midnight orgies held by the godless
proprietor in his subterranean apart
ments, where wine was drunken with
out stint, and beauty ruined without
remorse. Veiled figures had beer
seen passing through the garden gate
after night, and men were not wanting
to swear that these figures, in dark
robes and sweeping veils, were pretty
damsels with neat ankles and soft
eyes.

As time passed on, the rumors
grew and the mystery deepened.
The neatly-constructed stable at the
end of the garden was said to be con

MONK-HALL.

nee ted with the house, some hundred
yards distant, by a subterranean pas
sage. The two wings, branching out
at either extremity of the rear of the
mansion, looked down upon a court
yard, separated by a light wicket
fence from the garden walks. The
court-yard, overarched by an awning
in summer time, was said to be the
scene of splendid festivals to which
the grandees of the city were invited.
From the western wing of the man
sion arose a square lanthern-like
structure, which the gossips called a
tower, and hinted sagely of witchcraft
and devildom whenever it was named.
They called the proprietor, a libertine,
a gourmand, an astrologer and a
wizard. He feasted in the day and he
consulted his friend, the Devil, at
night. He drank wine at all times,
and betrayed innocence on every oc
casion. In short the seclusion of the
mansion, its singular structure, its
wall of brick and its grove of impene
trable trees, gave rise to all sorts of
stories, and the proprietor has come
down to our time with a decidedly bad
character, although it is more than
likely that he was nothing but a
wealthy Englishman, whimsical and
eccentric, the boon-companion and
friend of Governor Evans, the rollick
ing Chief Magistrate of the Province.

Although tradition has not preserved
the name of the mysterious individual
yet the title of his singular mansion,
is still on record.

It was called Monk-hall.

There are conflicting traditions
which assert that this title owed its
origin to other sources, A Catholic
Priest occupied the mansion after the
original proprietoi went home to his

native land, or slid into his grave ; it
was occupied as a Nunnery, as a
Monastary, or as a resort for the Sisters
of Charity ; the mass had been said
within its walls, its subterranean
chambers converted into cells, its
tower transformed into an oratory cf
prayer such are the dim legends
which were rife some forty years ago,
concerning Monk-hall, long after the
city, in its southern march, had cut
down the trees, overturned the wall,
levelled the garden into building lots
and divided it by streets and alleys
into a dozen triangles and squares.

Some of these legends, so vague
and so conflicting, are still preserved
in the memories of aged men and
white-haired matrons, who will sit by
the hour and describe the gradual
change which time and improvement,
those twin desolators of the beautiful,
had accomplished with Monk-hall.

Soon after the Revolution, fine brick
buildings began to spring up along the
streets which surrounded the garden,
while the alleys traversing its area,
grew lively with long lines of frame
houses, variously fashioned and paint
ed, whose denizens awoke the echoes
of the place with the sound of the
hammer and the grating of the saw.
Time passed on, and the distinctive
features of the old mansion and garden
were utterly changed. Could the old
proprietor have risen from his grave,
and desired to pay another visit to his
friend, the Devil, in the subterranean
chambers of his former home, he
would have had, to say the least of it, a
devil of a time in finding the way.
Where the old brick wall had stood
he would have found long rows of
dwelling houses, some four storied.

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

some three or one, some brick,
some frame, a few pebble-dashed, and
all alive with inhabitants.

In his attempt to find the Hall, he
would have had to wind up a narrow
alley, turn down a court, strike up an
avenue, which it would take some
knowledge of municipal geography to
navigate. At last, emerging into a nar
row street where four alleys crossed,
he would behold his magnificent man
sion of Monk-hall with a printing
office on one side and a stereotype
foundry on the other, while on the
opposite side of the way, a mass of
. miserable frame houses seemed about
to commit suicide and fling themselves
madly into the gutter, and in the dis
tance a long line of dwellings, offices,
and factories, looming in broken per
spective, looked as if they wanted to
shake hands across the narrow street.
The southern front of the house alas,
how changed alone is visible. The
shutters on one side of the hall-door are
nailed up and hermetically closed,
while, on the other, shutters within the
glasses bar out the light of day. The
semi-circular window in the centre
of the gabled-peak has been built up
with brick, yet our good friend would
find the tower on the western wing in
tolerable good preservation. The sta
ble one hundred yards distant from
Monk-hall what has become of it ?
Perhaps it is pulled down, or it may
be that a splendid dwelling towers in
its place? It is still in existence,
standing amid the edifices of a busy
street, its walls old and tottering, its
ancient stable-floor turned into a bulk
window, surmounted by the golden
balls of a Pawnbroker, while within its
precincts, rooms furnished for house-

hold use supply the place of the stalls
of the olden-time. Does the subter
ranean passage still exist? Future
pages of our story may possibly an
swer the question.

Could our ancient and ghostly pro
prietor, glide into the tenements ad
joining Monk-hall, and ask^the me
chanic or his wife, the printer or the
factory marj to tell him the story of
the strange old building, he would find
that the most remarkable ignorance
prevailed in regard to the structure,
its origin and history. One man
might tell him that it had been a fac
tory, or a convent, or the Lord knows
what, another might intimate that it
had been a church, a third (and he
belonged to the most numerous class)
would reply in a surly tone that he
knew nothing about the old brick nui
sance, while in the breasts of one or
two aged men and matrons, yet living
in Southwark, would be discovered the
only chronicles of the ancient struc
ture now extant, the only records of
its history or name. Did our spirit-
friend glide over the threshold and
enter the chambers of his home, his
eye would, perhaps, behold scenes that
rivalled, in vice and magnificence,
anything that legend chronicled of the
olden-time of Monk-hall, although its
exterior was so desolate, and its out-
side-door of green blinds varied by a
big brass plate, bore the respectable
and saintly name of "ABIJAH K.
JONES," in immense letters, half in
distinct with dirt and rust.

Who this Abijah K. Jones was, no
one knew, although the owner of the
house, a good Christian, who had a

pew in

church, where he took

the sacrament at least once a month,

THE MONKS OF MONK-HALL.

might have been able to tell with very
little research. Yet what of that?
Abijah K. Jones might have nightly
entertained the infernal regions in his
house, and not a word been said about
it; because, as the pious landlord
would observe, when cramming Abi-
jahs rent-money into the same pocket-
book that contained some tract-society
receipts, t* Good tenant that ! pays
his rent with the regularity of clock
wor

CHAPTER SEVENTH.

THE MONKS OP MONK-HALL.

THE moon was shining brightly
over the face of the old mansion, while
the opposite side of the alley lay in
dim and heavy shadow. The light
brown hue of the closed shutters af
forded a vivid contrast to the surface
of the front, which had the strikingly
gloomy effect always produced by the
intermixture of black and red brick,
disposed like the colors of a chess
board, in the structure of a mansion.
The massive cornice above the hall-
door, the heavy eaves of the roof, the
gabled peak rising in the centre, and
the cumbrous frames of the many
windows, all stood out boldly in
the moonlight, from the dismal relief
of the building s front.

The numerous chimneys with their
fantastic shapes rose grimly in the
moonlight, like a strange band of gob
lin sentinels, perched of the roof to
watch the mansion. The general ef
fect was that of an ancient structure
falling to decay, deserted by all inhab
itants save the rats that gnawed the

wainscot along the thick old walla.
The door-plate that glittered on the
faded door, half covered as it was with
rust and verdigris, with its saintly name
afforded the only signs of the actual
occupation of Monk-Hall by human
beings : in all other respects it looked
so desolate, so time-worn, so like a
mausoleum for old furniture, and
crumbling tapestry, for high-backed
mahogany chairs, gigantic bedsteads,
and strange looking mirrors, veiled in
the thick folds of the spider s web.

Dim and indistinct, like the booming
of a distant cannon, the sound of the
State-House bell, thrilled along tho
intricate maze of streets and alleys.
It struck the hour of two. The mur
mur of the last stroke of the bell, so
dim and indistinct, was mingled with
the echo of approaching footsteps, and
in a moment two figures turned the
corner of an alley that wound among
the tangled labyrinth of avenues, and
came hastening on toward the lonely
mansion ; lonely even amid tenements
and houses, gathered as thickly to
gether as the cells in a bee-hive.

" I say, Gus, what a devil of a way
you ve led me!" cried one of the
strangers, with a thick cloak wrapped
round his limbs "up one alley and
down another, around one street and
through another, backwards and for
wards, round this way and round that
damme if I can tell which is north
or south except by the moon !"

" Hist ! my fellow don t mention
names cardinal doctrine that on an
affair of this kind " answered the
tall figure, whose towering form was
enveloped in a frogged overcoat
" Remember, you pass in as my friend.

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

Wait a moment we ll see whether
old Devil-Bug is awake."

Ascending the granite steps of the
mansion, he gave three distinct raps
with his gold-headed cane, on the sur
face of the brass -plate. In a moment
the rattling of a heavy chain, and the
sound of a bolt, slowly withdrawn,
was heard within, and the door of the
mansion, beyond the outside door of
green blinds, receded about the width
of an inch.

" Who s there, a disturbin honest
folks this hour o the night " said a
voice, that came grumbling through
the blinds of the green door, like the
sound of a grindstone that hasn t been
oiled for some years " What the devil
you want ? Go about your business
or I ll call the watch "

" I say, Devil -Bug, what hour o th
aight is it ?" exclaimed Lorrimer in a
whispered tone.

" Dinner time " replied the
grindstone voice slightly oiled
"Come in sir. Did nt know twas
you. How the devil should 1 7 Come
in"

As the voice grunted this invitation,
Lorrimer seized Byrnewood by the
arm, and glided through the opened
door.

Byrnewood looked around in wonder,
as he discovered that the front door
opened into a small closet or room
some ten feet square, the floor bare
and uncarpeted, the ceiling darkened
by smoke, while a large coal fire,
burning in a rusty grate, afforded
both light and heat to the apartment.

The heat was close and stifling,
while the light, but dim and flickering,
iislosed the form of the door-keeper
of Monk-hall, as he stood directly in

ront of the grate, surrounded by lh
details of his den.

"This is my friend " said LOT-
rimer in a meaning tone " You un
derstand, Devil-Bug?"

"Yes " grunted the grindstone
voice " I understand. O course. But
my name is Bijah K. Jones, if you
slease, my pertikler friend. I never
know d sich a individooal as Devii-
Bug"

It requires no great stretch of fancy
o imagine that his Satanic majesty,
once on a time, in a merry mood,
created a huge insect, in order to test
lis inventive powers. Certainly that
nsect which it was quite natural to
designate by the name of Devil-Bug
stood in the full light of the grate,
gazing steadfastly in Byrne wood s
face. It was a strange thickset speci
men of flesh and blood, with a short
body, marked by immensely broad
shoulders, long arms and thin destort-
ed legs. The head of the creature
was ludicrously large in proportion to
the body. Long masses of stiff black
hair fell tangled and matted over a
forehead, protuberent to deformity. A
flat nose with wide nostrils shooting
out into each cheek like the smaller
wings of an insect, an immense mouth
whose heavy lips disclosed two long
rows of bristling teeth, a pointed chin,
blackened by a heavy beard, and mas
sive eyebrows meeting over the nose,
all furnished the details of a counte
nance, not exactly calculated to in
spire the most pleasant feelings in the
world. One eye, small black and
shapen like a bead, stared steadily in
Byrnewood s face, while the other
socket was empty, shrivelled and orb-
less. The eyelids of the vacant socket

THE MONKS OF MONK-HALL.

were joined together like the opposing j buried all traces of a chin and discJos-
edges of a curtain, while the other eye Jed two rows of teeth protruding like
gained additional brilliancy and effect | the tusks of a wild boar. Musquito

from the loss of its fellow member.

The shoulders of the Devil-Bug,
protruding in unsightly knobs, the
wide chest, and the long arms with
talon-like fingers, so vividly contrast
ed with the thin and distorted legs, all
attested that the remarkable strength
of the man was located in the upper
, part of his body.

" Well, Abijah, are you satisfied ?"
asked Lorrimer, as he perceived
Byrnewood shrink back with disgust
from the door-keeper s gaze " This
gentleman. I say, is my friend V

"So I s pose," grunted Abijah
" Here, Musquito, mark this man
here. Glow-worm, mark him, I say.
This is Monk Gusty s friend. Can t
you move quicker, you ugly devils?"

From either side of the fire-place,
as he spoke, emerged a tall Herculean
negro, with a form of strength and
sinews of iron. Moving slowly along
the floor, from the darkness which
had enshrouded their massive outlines,
they stood silent and motionless gaz
ing with look of stolid indifference

upon

the face of the new-comer.

Byrnewood had started aside in disgust
from the Devil-Bug, as he was styled
in the slang of Monk-hall, but certainly
(these additional insects, nestling in the
Ky den of the other, were rather singular
specimens of the glow-worm and mus-
quito. Their attire was plain and
simple. Each negro was dressed in
coarse corduroy trowsers, and a flar
ing red flannel shirt. The face of
! Glow-worm was marked by a hideous
flat nose, a receding forehead, and a
wide mouth with immense lips that

had the same flat nose, the same re
ceding forehead, but his thick lips,
tightly compressed, were drawn down
on either side towards his jaw, present
ing an outline something like the two
sides of a triangle, while his sharp
and pointed chin was in direct contrast
to the long chinless jaw of the other.
Their eyes, large, rolling and vacant,
stared from bulging eyelids, that pro
truded beyond the outline of the brows.
[Altogether, each negro presented as
hideous a picture of mere brute
strength, linked with a form scarcely
human, as the imaginatior of man
might well conceive.J

" This is Monk Gusty s friend "
muttered Abijah, or Devil -Bug, as tho
reader likes " Mark him, Musquito
Mark him, Glow-worm, I say.
Mind ye now this man don t leave
the house except with Gusty ? D ye
hear, ye black devils ?"

Each negro growled assent.

" Queer specimens of a Musquito
and a Glow-worm, I say " laughed
Byrnewood in the effort to smother his
disgust Eh ? Lorrimer ?"

" This way, my fellow " answer,
ed the magnificent Gus, gently leading
his friend through a small door, which
led from the doorkeeper s closet
" This way. Now for the club and
then for the wager P

Looking around in wonder, Byrne-
wood discovered that they had passed
into the hall of an old-time mansion,
with the beams of the moon, falling
from a skylight in the roof far above,
down over the windings of a massive
staircase.

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

" This is rather a strange place
eh ? Gus?" whispered Byrnewood, as
he gazed around the hall, and marked
the ancient look of the place " why
the d 1 don t they have a light
those insects ha-ha whom we have
just left !"

" Secrecy my fellow secrecy !
Those are the police of Monk-Hall,
certain to be at hand in case of a row.
You see, the entire arrangements of
this place may be explained in one
word it is easy enough for a stranger

ranean stairway, surrounded by the
darkness of midnight, Byrnewood
found it difficult to subdue a feeling of
awe which began to spread like a
shadow over his soul. This feeling it
was not easy to analyze. It may
have been a combination of feelings ;
the consideration of the darkness and
loneliness of the place, his almost
entire ignorance of the handsome liber
tine who was now leading him he
knew not where; or perhaps the
earnest words of the Astrologer, fraught

that s you, my boy to find his with doom and death, came home to

way in, but it would puzzle him like
the devil to find his way out. That
is, without assistance. Take my arm
Byrnewood we must descend to the
club room "

" Descend ?"

" Yes my fellow. Descend, for we
hold our meetings one sory under
ground. Its likely all the fellows
or Monks, to speak in the slang of the
club are now most royally drunk,
so I can slide you in among them,
without much notice. You can re
main there while I go and prepare the
bride ha ha ha ! the bride for
your visit "

Meanwhile, grasping Byrnewood by
the arm, he had led the way along the
hall, beyond the staircase, into the
thick darkness, which rested upon this
part of the place, unillumined by a ray
of light.

" Hold my arm, as tight as you
can " he whispered " There is a
staircase somewhere here. Softly
softly now I have it. Tread with
care, Byrnewood In a moment we
will be in the midst of the Monks of
Monk-Hall "

And as they descended the subte?-

his soul like a vivid presentiment, in
that moment of uncertainty and gloom.

" Don t you hear their shouts, my
boy " whispered Lorrimer "Faith,
they must be drunk as judges, every
man of them! Why Byrnewood,
you re as still as death "

" To tell you the truth, Lorrimer,
this place looks like the den of some
old wizard it s so d d gloomy "

" Here we are at the door : Now
mark me, Byrnewood you must
walk in the club-room, or Monk s room
as they call it, directly at my back.
While I salute the Monks of Monk-
hall, you will slide into a vacant seat
at the table, and mingle in the revelry
of the place until I return * "

Stooping through a narrow door,
whose receding panels flung a blaze
of light along the darkness of the pas
sage, Lorrimer, with Byrnewood at
his back, descended three wooden
steps, that led from the door-sill to the
floor, and in a moment, stood amid
the revellers of Monk-hall.

In a long, narrow room, lighted by
the blaze of a large chandelier, with a
low ceiling and a wide floor, covered
with a double-range of carpets, around

THE MONKS OF MONK-HALL.

a table spread with the relics of their
feast, were grouped the Monks of
Monk-halU

They hailed Lorrimer with a shout,
and as they rore to greet him, Byrne-
wood glided into a vacant arm-chair
near the head of the table, and in a
moment his companion had disappear
ed.

"I ll be with you in a moment,
Monks of Monk-hall " he shouted
as he glided through the narrow door
"A little affair to settle up stairs
you know me nice little girl ha-
ha-ha "

" Ha-ha-ha " echoed the band of
revellers, raising their glasses merrily
on high.

Byrnewood glanced hurriedly
around. The room, long and spa
cious as it was, the floor covered with
the most gorgeous carpeting, and the
low ceiling, embellished with a faded
painting in fresco, still wore an anti
quated, not to say, dark and gloomy
appearance. The wnll? ^rfi rnniTf^ 1 -
eji_^_huge_^neJs_jD-wunaa^ in
tricate with uncouth sculpturings of
fawns and satyrs, and other hideous
creations of classic mythology. At
one end of the room, reaching from
floor to ceiling, glared an immense
mirror, framed in massive walnut, its
glittering surface, reflecting the long
festal board, with its encircling band
of revellers. Inserted in the corres
ponding panels of the wainscot, on
either side of the small door, at the
opposite end of the room, two large
pictures, evidently the work of a
master hand, indicated the mingled
worship of the devotees of Monk-hall.
In the picture on the right of the door,
Bacchus, the jolly god of mirth and

wine, was represented rising from a
festal -board, his brow wreathed in
clustering grapes, while his hand
swung aloft, a goblet filled with the
purple blood of the grape. In the
other painting, along a couch as dark
as night, with A softened radiance
falling over her uncovered form, lay a
sleeping Venus, her full arms, twining
above her head, while her lips were
dropped apart, as though she murmur
ed in her slumber. Straight and erect,
behind the chair of the President or
Abbot of the board, arose the effigy of
a monk, whose long black robes fell
drooping to the floor, while his cowl
hung heavily over his brow, and his
right hand raised on high a goblet of
gold. From beneath the shadow of
the falling cowl, glared a fleshless
skeleton head, with the orbless eye-
sockets, the cavity of the nose, and
the long rows of grinning teeth, turned
to a faint and ghastly crimson by the
lampbeams. The hand that held the
goblet on high, was a grisly skeleton
hand ; the long and thin fingers of
bone, twining firmly around the glit
tering bowl.

And over this scene, over the paint
ings and the mirror, over the gloomy
wainscot along the walls, and over the
faces of the revellers with the Skeleton.
Monk, grinning derision at their scene
of bestial enjoyment, shone the red
beams of the massive chandelier, the
body and limbs of which were fashioned
into the form of a grim Satyr, with a
light flaring from his skull, a flame
emerging from each eye, while his ex-
tended hands flung streams of fire on
either side, and his knees were huddled
up against his breast. The design wa
like a nightmare dream, so grotesque

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

and lerrible, and it completed the
strange and ghostly appearance of the
room.

Aound the long and narrow board,
Btrown with the relics of the feast,
which had evidently been some hours
in progress, sate the Monks of Monk-
hall, some thirty hi number, flinging
their glasses on high, while the room
echoed with their oaths and drunken
shouts. Some lay with their heads
thrown helplessly on the table, others
were gazing round in sleepy drunken
ness, others had fallen to the floor in
a state of unconscious intoxication,
while a few there were who still kept
up the spirit of the feast, although
their incoherent words and heavy eyes
proclaimed that they too were fast ad
vancing to that state of brutal inebriety,
when strange-looking stars shine in
the place of the lamps, when the bot
tles dance and even tables perform the
cracovienne, while all sorts of bee
hives create a buzzing murmur in the
air.

And the Monks of Monk-hall
who are they ?

Grim- faced personages in long black
robes and drooping cowls ? Stern old
men with beads around their necks
ind crucifix in hand? Blood-thirsty
characters, perhaps, or black-browed
"uffians, or wan-faced outcasts of so-
tiety?

Ah no, ah no! From the elo
quent, the learned, and don t you
laugh from the pious of the Quaker
City, the old Skeleton-Monk had se
lected the members of his band. Here
were lawyers from the court, doctors
from the school, and judges* from the

* This of course alludes to Judges of dis
tant country courts.

bench. Here too, ruddy and round
faced, sate a demure parson, wMose
white hands and soft words, had made
him the idol of his wealthy congre
gation. Here was a puffy-faced Edi
tor side by side with a Magazine Pro
prietor; here were sleek-visaged trades
men, with round faces and gouty hands,
whose voices, new shouting the drink
ing song had re-eghoed the prayer
and the psalm in the aristocratic .
church, not longer than a Sunday
ago; here were solemn-faced mer
chants, whose names were wont to
figure largely in the records of Bible
Societies, * Tract Societies and &lt; Send
Flannel-to-the-South-Sea-Islanders So
cieties ;* here were reputable married
men, with grown up children at col
lege, and trustful wives sleeping
quietly in their dreamless beds at
home ; here were hopeful sons, clerks
in wholesale stores, who raised the
wine-glass on high with hands which,
not three hours since, had been busy
with the cash-book of the employer .
here in fine were men of all clas
ses, poets, authors, lawyers, judg
es, doctors, merchants, gamblers,
and this is no libel I hope one par-
son, a fine red-faced parson, whose
glowing face would have warmed a
poor man on a cold day. Moderately
drunk, or deeply drunk, or vilely
drunk, all the members of the board
who still maintained their arm-chairs,
kept up a running fire of oaths, disjoint
ed remarks, mingled with small talk
very much broken, and snatches of
bacchanalian songs, slightly improved
by a peculiar chorus of hiccups.

While Byrnewood, with a sleeping
man on either side of him, gazed
around in sober wonder, this was

THE MONKS OF MONK-HALL.

the fashion of ths conversation among
the Monks of Monk-hall.

" Judge I say, judge that last
Charge o yours was capital " hic
cupped a round-faced lawyer, leaning
over the table "Touched on the
viccjs of the day ha ha ! Dens
of iniquity and holes of wickedness
;ts very words ! exist in city, which
want the strong arm of the law to up
root and ex-ex d n the hard
words exterminate them !

" Good my very words "
replied the Judge, who sat gazing
around with a smile of imbecile fatuity
" Yet, Bellamy, not quite so good
as your words, when your wife
how this d d room swims found
out your liason with the Actress ! Ha

ha, gents too d d good that "
" Ha ha ha " laughed some

dozen of the company " let s hear it

let s hear it "

Why you see replied the
Judge " Bellamy is so d d fat, (just
keep them bottles from dancing about
the table !) so very fat, that the i-i-idea
of his writing a love-letter is rath-
rather improbable. Nevertheless he
did to a pretty actress, Madame De
Flum and left it on his office table.
His wife found it oh Lord what
a scene ! ranted raved tore her
hair. * My dear * said our fat
friend, do be calm this is the copy
of a letter in a breach of promise case,
on which I am about to bring suit for
a lady client. The mistake of
the names is the fault of my clerk.
Do oh do be calm. His wife
swallowed the story clever story for
a fat man very !"

"JErieods and Brethren, what shall
ye do to be saved ?" shouted the beefy -

faced parson, in the long-diawh nasal
tones peculiar to his pulpit or lecture-
room " When we con-consider the
wickedness of the age, when we re
flect tha-that there are thousands da-i-
ly and hou-r-ly going down to per-per-
dition, should we not cry from the
depths of our souls, like Jonah from
the depths of the sea I say, give us
the brandy, Mutchins !"

" Gentlemen, allow me to read you
a poem " muttered a personage,
whose cheeks blushed from habitual
kisses of the bottle, as he staggered
from his chair, and endeavoured to
stand erect " It s a poem on
(what an unsteady floor this is hold
it, Petriken, I say) on the Ten Com
mandments. I ve dedicated it to our
Rev-Reverend friend yonder. There s
a touch in it, gentlemen if I may
use the expression above ordinary
butter-milk. A sweetness, a path-
pathos, a mildness, a-a-vein, gentle
men, of the strictest mo-ral-i-ty. I
will read sonnet one Thou shalt
not take the co-eternal name eh?
Dammit ! This is a bill ! I ve left
the sonnet at home "

" Curse it how I ll cut this fellow
up in my next Black-Mail !" murmur
ed the puffy- faced editor, in a tone
which he deemed inaudible to the poet
" Unless he comes down handsome
I ll give him a stinger, a real
scorcher "

" Will you, though ?" shouted the
poet, turning round with a drunken
stare, and aiming a blow at the half-
stupid face of the editor " Take that
you fungus you abortion you
d d gleaner of a common sewer
you "

"Gentlemen, I con-consider myself

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

grossly insulted " muttered the edi
tor, as the poet s blow took effect on
his wig and sent it spinning to the
other end of the table " Is the Daily
Black Mail come to this T

Here he made a lunge at the author
of the Ten Commandments, a Series
of ^oiinets, and, joined in a fond em
brace, they fell insensible to the floor.

" Take that wig out of my plate "
shouted a deep voice from the head of
the table " Wigs, as a general thing,
are not very nice with oysters, but
that fellow s wig ugh ! Faugh !"

Attracted by the sound of the voice,
Byrnewood glanced towards the head
of the table. There, straight and erect,
sate the Abbot of the night, a gentle
man elected by the fraternity to pre
side over their feasts. He was a man
of some thirty odd years, dressed in a
suit of glossy black, with a form re
markable for its combination of
strength with symmetry. His face,
long and dusky, lighted by the gleam
of a dark eye, indicating the man whose
whole life had been one series of plot,
scheme, and intrigue, was relieved
by heavy masses of long black hair
resembling, in its texture, the mane of
a horse which fell in curling locks
to his shoulders. It needed not a
second glance to inform Byrnewood
that he beheld the hero of Chesnut
street, the distinguished millionare,
Col. Fitz-Cowles. The elegant cut
of his dark vest, which gathered over
his prominent chest and around his
slender waist, with the nicety of a
glove, the plain black scarf, fastened
by a breast-pin of solid gold, the
glossy black of his dress-coat, shapen
of the best French cloth, all disclosed
the idol of the tailors, the dream of

the fashionable belles^ the envy of the
dry gpods clerks, [Algernon Fitz-
Cowles. He seemed, by far, the most
sober man in the company. Every
now and then Byrnewood beheld him
glance anxiously toward the door as
though he wished to escape from the
room. And after every glance, as he
beheld one Monk after another kissing
the carpet, bottle in hand, the interest
ing Colonel would join heartily in the
drunken bout, raising his voice with
the loudest, and emptying his glass with
the most drunken. Yet, to the eye
of Byrnewood, this looked more like
a mere counterfeit of a drunkard s
manner than the thing itself. It was
evident that the handsome millionaire
emptied his glass under the table.

The revel now grew wild and
furious. As bottle after bottle was
consumed, so the actors in the scene
began to appear, more and more, in
their true characters. At last all dis
guise seemed thrown aside, and each
voice, joining in the chorus of disjoint
ed remarks, indicated that its owner
imagined himself amid the scenes of
his daily life.

" Gentlemen allow me to read
you a tale a tale from the German
on Transcendental Essences " cried
Petriken, rising, for he too was there,
forgetful, like Mutch ins, of his pro
mise to Lorrimer "This, gents, is a
tale for my next Western Hem.:" here
his oyster-like eyes rolled ghastily
"The Ladies Western Hem., forty-
eight pages monthly offers fol
lowing inducements two dollars "
at this point of his handbill the gentlo
man staggered wofully " Office No
209 Drayman s Alley hurn-h

THE MONKS OF MONK-HALL.

Mutchins what s your idea of soft
crabs?"

Here the literary gentleman fell
heavily to the floor, mingled in the
same hean that contained the poet and
the wigless editor. In a moment he
rose heavily to his feet, and staggered
slowly to Mutchin s side.

" Gentlemen of the jury, I charge
you " began the Judge.

" Your honor, I beg leave to open
this case " interrupted the lawyer.

" My friends and brethren," cried
the parson " what shall ye do to be
saved oh "

"Hand us the brandy " shouted
Mutchins.

" Mutchy Mutchy I say "
hiccupped Petriken " Rem-Rem-em-
ber the gown and the prayer-book "

" Silly we must take a wash-
off " cried Mutchins, starting sud
denly from his seat " The thing
had slipped my memory this way,
my parson ha, ha, ha "

And taking Silly by the arm, he
staggered from the room in company
with the tow-haired gentleman.

" Lord look down upon these thy
children, and " continued the par
son, who, like the others, appeared
unconscious of the retreat of Petriken
and his comrade.

" Hand the oysters this way "
remarked a mercantile gentleman,
with a nose decorated by yellowish
streaks from a mustard bottle.

" Boys I tell you the fire s up this
alley " cried another merchant
ather an amateur in fires when sober
" Here s the plug now then "

" Gentlemen of the Grand Jury, I
beg leave to tell you that the amount
of sin committed m this place, in your

very eyesight, cannot be tolerated by
the court any longer. Dens of ini
quity must be uprooted who th
h 11 flung that celery stalk in my
eye?"

" Who soaked my cigar in cham
pagne?"

"Somebody s lit another chande
lier"

" Hand us the brandy "

" Did you say I didn t put down
my name for 4 one hundred, to the
Tract Society ?"

" No I didn t, but I do now"

" Say it again, and I ll tie you up
in a meal bag "

" My friends " said the reverend
gentleman, staggering to his feet
" What is this I see confusion and
drunkeness ? Is this a scene for the
house of God ?" He glanced around
with a look of sober reproof, and then
suddenly exclaimed " No heeltaps
but show your bottoms ha-ha-ha !"

There was another person who re
garded this scene of bestial mirth with
the same cool glance as Byrnewood.
He was a young man with a massive
face, and a deep piercing brown eye.
His figure was somewhat stout, his
attire careless, and his entire appear
ance disclosed the young Philadelphia
lawyer. Changing his seat to Byrne-
wood s vicinity, he entered into con
versation with the young merchant,
and after making some pointed remarks
in regard to the various members of
the company, he stated that he had
been lured thither by Mutchins, who
had fancied he might cheat him out of
a snug sum at the roulette table, or ths
faro-bank in the course of the night.

" Roulette-table faro-bank ?" mtit
tered Byrnewood, incredulously.

ft?

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER

"Why, my friend " cried the
young lawyer, who gave his name as
Boyd Merivale " Don t you know
that this is one of the vilest rookeries
f in the world If It unites in all its
details the house-of-ill-fame, the club-
II house, and the gambling hell.j Egad !
I well remember the first time I set
my foot within its doors ! What I

beheld then, I can never forget "

" You have been here before, then ?"
" Yes have I ! As I perceive you
are unacquainted with the place, I will
tell you my experience of

A NIGHT IN MONK -HALL.*

Six years ago, in 1836, on a foggy
night in spring, at the hour of one
o clock, I found myself reposing in
one of the chambers of this mansion,
on an old-fashioned bed, side by side
with a girl, who, before her seduction,
had resided in my native village. It
was one o clock when I was aroused
by a hushed sound, like the noise of a
distant struggle. I awoke, started up
in bed, and looked round. The room
was entirely without light, save from
the fire-place, where a few pieces of
half-burned wood, emitted a dim and
uncertain flame. Now it flashed up
brightly, giving a strange lustre to the
old furniture of the room, the high-
backed mahogany chairs, the anti
quated bureau, and the low ceiling,
with heavy cornices around the walls.
Again the flame died away and all
was darkness. I listened intently. I

* The reader will remember, that Merivale
entered Monk-Hall for no licentious object.
hit with the distinct purpose of discovering the
ctreat of Western. This story, told in Mer-
ivale s own words, is strictly true

could hear no sound, save the breath
ing of the girl who slept by my side.
And as I listened, a sudden awe cama
over me. True, I heard no noise, but
that my sleep had been broken by a
most appaling sound, I could not doubt.
And the stories I had heard of Monk-
hall came over me. Years before, in
my native village, a wild rollicking
fellow, Paul Western, Cashier of the
ounty Bank, had indulged my fancy
with strange stories of a brothel, situ
ated in the outskirts of Philadelphia.
Paul was a wild fellow, rather good
looking, and went often to the city on
business. He spoke of Monk-hall as
a place hard to find, abounding in
mysteries, and darkened by hideous
crimes committed within its walls. It
had three stories of chambers beneath
the earth, as well as above. Each of
these chambers was supplied with trap-
doors, through the which the unsus
pecting man might be flung by his
murderer, without a moment s warn
ing. There was but one range of
rooms above the ground, where these
trap-doors existed. From the garret
to the first story, all in the same line,
like the hatchways in a storehouse,
sank this range of trap-doors, all care
fully concealed by the manner in
which the carpets were fixed. A
secret spring in the wall of any one of
these chambers, communicated with
the spring hidden beneath the carpet.
The spring in the wall might be so
arranged, that a single footstep pressed
on the spring, under the carpet, would
open the trap-door, and plunge the
victim headlong through the aperture.
In such cases no man could stride
across the floor without peril of hia
life. Beneath the ground another

THE MONKS OF MONK-HALL.

range of trap-cbors were placed in the
same manner, in the floors of three
stories of the subterranean chambers.
They plunged the victim God knows
where ! With such arrangements for
murder above and beneath the earth,
might there not exist hideous pits or
deep wells, far below the third story
under ground, where the body of the
victim would rot in darkness forever ?
As I remembered these details, the
connection between Paul Western, the
cheerful bachelor, and Emily Walra}
ven, the woman who was sleeping at
my side, flashed over my mind. [The

child of one of the first men of B ,

educated without regard to expense by
the doating father,^with a mind singu
larly masculine, and a tall queenly formj
a face distinguished for its beauty and a
manner remarkable for its ladylike ele
gance] poor Emily had been seduced,
some three years before, and soon
after disappeared from the town. Her
seducer no one knew, though from
some hints dropped casually by my
friend Paul, I judged that he at least
could tell. Rumors came to the place,
from time to time in relation to the
beautiful but fallen girl. One rumor
stated that she was now living as the
mistress of a wealthy planter, who
made his residence at times in Phila
delphia. Another declared that she
had become a common creature of the
town, and this great God, how ter
rible ! killed her poor father. The
rumor flew round the village to-day
next Sunday old Walraven was dead
and buried. They say that in his dying
hour he charged Paul Western with
his daughter s shame, and shrieked a
father s curse upon his head. He left
no oroperty, for his troubles had

preyed on his mind until he neglected
his affairs, and he died insolvent.

Well two years passed on, and no
one heard a word more of poor Emily
Suddenly in the spring of 1836, when
this town as well as the whole Union
was convulsed with the fever of spec
ulation, Paul Western, after a visit to
Philadelphia, with some funds of the
Bank, amounting to near thirty thou
sand dollars, in his possession, sud
denly disappeared, no one knew
whither. My father was largely in
terested in the bank. He despatched
me to town, in order that I might
make a desperate effort to track up the
footsteps of Western. Some items in
the papers stated that the Cashier had
fled to Texas, others that he had been
drowned by accident, others that he
had been spirited away. I alone pos
sessed a clue to the place of his con
cealment thus ran my thoughts at
all events and that clue was locked
in the bosom of Emily Walraven, the
betrayed and deeply-injured girl.
Sometime before his disappearance,
and after the death of old Walraven,
Paul disclosed to me, under a solemn
pledge of secresy, the fact that Emily
was living in Philadelphia, under his
protection, supported by his money.
He stated that he had furnished rooms
at the brothel called Monk-hall. With
this fact resting on my mind, I had
hurried to Philadelphia. For days my
search for Emily Walraven was in
vain. One night, when about giving up
the chase as hopeless, I strolled to the
Chesnut Street Theatre. Forrest was
playing Richelieu there was a row
in the third tier a bully had offered
violence to one of the ladies of the
town. Attracted by the noise, I join.

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

ed the throng rushing up stairs, and
beheld the girl who had been stricken,
standing pale and erect, a small poig-
nard in her upraised hand, while her
eyes flashed with rage as she dared
the drunken buffer to strike her again.
I stood thunderstruck as I recognized
Emily Walraven in the degraded yet
beautiful woman who stood before me.
.Springing forward, with one blow I
felled the bully to the floor, and in
another moment, seizing Emily by the
arm, I hurried down stairs, evaded the
constables, who were about to arrest
her, and gained the street. It was yet
early in the evening there were no
cabs in the street so I had to walk
home with her.

All this I remembered well, as I sat
listening in the lonely room.

I remembered the big tears that
started from her eyes when she re
cognized me, her wild exclamations
when I spoke of her course of life.
tf Don t talk to me " she had almost
shrieked as we hurried along the
street " it s too late for me to
change now. For God s sake let me
be happy in my degradation."

I remembered the warm flush of in
dignation that reddened over her face,
as pointing carelessly to a figure
which I observed through the fog,
some distance ahead, I exclaimed
"Is not that Paul Western yonder?"
Her voice was very deep and not at
all natural in its tone as she replied,
with assumed unconcern "I know
nothing about the man." At last,
after threading a labyrinth of streets,
compared to which the puzzling-gar
den was a mere frolic, we had gained
Monk-hall, the place celebrated by the
wonderful stories of my "riend West

ern. Egad ! As we neared the doot
I could have sworn that 1 beheld
Western himself disappear in the door
but this doubtless, I reasoned, had
been a mere fancy.

Silence still prevailed in the room,
still I heard but the scund of Emily
breathing in her sleep, and yet my
mind grew more and more heavy,
with some unknown feeling of awe. I
remembered with painful distinctness
the hang-dog aspect of the door-keeper
who had let us in, and the cut-throat
visages of his two attendants seemed
staring me visibly in the face. I grew
quite nervous. Dark ideas of murder
and the devil knows what, began to
chill my very soul. I bitterly remem
bered that I had no arms. The only
thing I carried with me was a slight
cane, which had been lent me by the

Landlord of the Hotel. It was a

mere switch of a thing.

As these things came stealing over
me, the strange connexion between the
fate of Western and that of the beau
tiful woman who lay beside me, the
sudden disappearance of the former,
the mysterious character of Monk-hall,
the startling sounds which had aroused
me, the lonely appearance of the room,
fitfully lighted by the glare on the
hearth, all combined, deepened the
impression of awe, which had gradu
ally gained possession of my faculties.
I feared to stir. You may have felt
this feeling this strange and incom
prehensible feeling but if you have
not, just imagine a man seized with
tlje, night-mare when wide awake.

I was sitting upright in bed, chilled
to the very heart, afraid to move an
inch, almost afraid to breathe, when,
far, far down through the chambers

THE MONKS OF MONK HALL.

of the old mansion, I heard a faint
hushed sound, like a man endeavour
ing to cry out when attacked by night
mare, and then great God how dis
tinct ! I heard the cry of Murder,
murder, murder ! far, far, far below
me.

The cry aroused Emily from her
sleep. She started up in the bed and
whispered, in a voice without tremor
" What is the matter Boyd "

" Listen " I cried with chattering
teeth, and again, up from the depths
of the mansion welled that awful
sound, Murder! MURDER! MUR
DER ! growing louder every time.
Then far, far, far down I could hear
a gurgling sound. It grew fainter
every moment. Fainter, fainter, faint
er. All was still as death.

" What does this mean?" I whisper
ed almost fiercely, turning to Emily
by my side" What does this mean?"
And a dark suspicion flashed over my
mind.

The flame shot upward in the fire
place, and revealed every line of her
intellectual countenance.

Her dark eyes looked firmly in my
face as she answered, "In God s
name I know not !"

The manner of the answer satisfied
me as to her firmness, if it did not
convince me of her innocence. I sat
silent and sullen, conjuring over the
incidents of the night.

" Come, Boyd " she cried, as she
arose from the bed " You must leave
the house. I never entertain visitors
after this hour. It is my custom. I
thank you for your protection at the
theatre, but you must go home "

Her manner was calm and self-

I turned to her in perfect
amazement.

" I will not leave the house " I
said, as a dim vision of being attacked
by assassins on the stairway, arose to
my mind.

" There is Devil -Bug and his cut
throat negroes " thought I " no
thing so easy as to give me a cliff
with a knife from some dark corner ;
nothing so secret as my burial-place
in some dark hole in the cellar"

" I won t go home " said I, aloud.

Emily looked at me in perfect
wonder. It may have been affected,
and it may have been real.

" Well then, I must go down stairs
to get something to eat " she said,
in the most natural manner in the
world" I usually eat something
about this hour "

" You may eat old Devil-Bug and
bis niggers, if you like " I replied
aughing " But out of this house my
father s son don t stir till broad day-
ight."

With a careless laugh, she wound
her night gow i round her, opened the
door, and disappeared in the dark.
Down, down, down, I could hear hex
go, her footsteps echoing along the
stairway of the old mansion, down,
down, down. In a few moments all
was still.

Here I was, in a pretty fix. In
a lonely room at midnight, ignorant
of the passages of the wizard s den,
without arms, and with the pleasant
prospect of the young lady coming
jack with Devil-Bug and his niggera
o despatch me. I had heard the cry
of Murder so ran my reasoning

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

--they, that is the murderers would
suspect that I was a witness to their
guilt, and, of course, would send me
down some d d trap-door on an
especial message .o the devil.

This was decidely a bad case. I
began to look around the room for
some chance of escape, some arms to
defend myself, or, perhaps from a
motive of laudible curiosity, to know
something more about the place where
my death was to happen.

One moment, regular as the ticking
of a clock, the room would be illumi
nated by a flash of red light from the
fire-place, the next it would be dark as
a grave. Seizing the opportunity af
forded by the flash, I observed some
of the details of the room. On the
right side of the fire-place there was a
closet : the door fastened to the post by
a very singular button, shaped like a
diamond ; about as long as your little
finger and twice as thick. On the
other side of the fire-place, near the
ceiling, was a small oblong window,
about as large as two half sheets of
writing paper, pasted together at the
ends. Here let me explain the use of
this window. The back part of Monk-
hall is utterly destitute of windows.
Light, faint and dim you may be sure,
is admitted from t{ie front by small
windows, placed in the wall of each
room. How many rooms there are
on a floor, I know not, but, be they five
or ten, or twenty, they are all lighted
In this way.

Well, as I looked at this window, I
perceived one corner of the curtain on
fhe other side was turned up. This
gave me very unpleasant ideas. I
almost fancied I beheld a human face
pressed against the glass, looking at

me. Then the flash on the hearth
died away, and all was dark. I heard
a faint creaking noise the light from
the hearth again lighted the place
could I believe my eyes the button
on the closet-door turned slowly round !

Slowly slowly slowly it turned,
making a slight grating noise. This
circumstance, slight as it may appear
to you, filled me with horror. What
could turn the button, but a human
hand ? Slowly, slowly it turned, and
the door sprung open with a whizzing
sound. All was dark again. The
cold sweat stood out on my forehead.
Was my armed murderer waiting to
spring at my throat ? I passed a mo
ment of intense horror. At last,
springing hastily forward, I swung
the door shut, and fastened the button.
I can swear that I fastened it as tight
as ever button was fastened. Regain
ing the bed I silently awaited the
result. Another flash of light Great
God ! I could swear there was a
face pressed against the oblong win
dow ! Another moment and it is
darkness creak, creak, creak is
that the sound of the button again 1 It
was light again, and there, before my
very eyes, the button moved slowly
round ! Slowly, slowly, slowly !

The door flew open again. I sat
still as a statue. I felt it difficult to
breathe. Was my enemy playing
with me, like the cat ere she destroys
her game !

I absently extended my hand. It
touched the small black stick given

me by the Landlord of the Hotel

in the beginning of the evening. I
drew it to me, like a friend. Grasp
ing it with both hands, I calculated
the amount of service it might do me.

THE MONKS OF MONK-HALL.

And as I grasped it, the top seemed
parting from the lower portion of the
cane. Great God ! It was a sword
cane ! Ha-ha ! I could at least strike
one blow ! My murderers should not
despatch me without an effort of resis
tance. You see my arm is none of
the puniest in the world ; I may say
fhat there are worse men than Boyd
Merivale for a fight.

Clutching the sword-cane, I rushed
forward, and standing on the threshold
of the opened door, I made a lunge
with all my strength through the dark
ness of the recess. Though I extend
ed my arm to its full length, and the
sword was not less than eighteen
inches long, yet to my utter astonish
ment, I struck but the empty air !
Another lunge and the same result !

Things began to grow rather queer.
I was decidedly beat out as they say.
I shut the closet door again, retreated
to the bed, sword in hand, and awaited
the result. I heard a sound, but it
was the footstep of poor Emily, who
that moment returned with a bed-lamp
in one hand, and a small waiter, sup
plied with a boiled chicken and a bot
tle of wine in the other. There was
nothing remarkable in her look, her
face was calm, and her boiled chicken
and bottle of wine, decidedly common
place.

" Great God " she cried as she
gazed in my countenance " What
is the matter with you ? Your face is
quite livid and your eyes are fairly
starting from their sockets "

" Good reason " said I, as I felt
lhat my lips were clammy and white
" That d d button has been going
omd ever since you left, and that

d d door has been springing open
every time it was shut "

Ha-ha-ha " she laughed
" Would it have sprung open if you
had not shut it ?"

This was a very clear question and
easy to answer ; but

" Mark you, my lady " said I
" Here am I in a lonely house, under
peculiar circumstances. I am waked
up by the cry of Murder a door
springs open without a hand being
visible a face peers at me through
a window. As a matter of course I
suspect there has been foul work done
here to-night. And through every
room of this house, Emily you must
lead the way, while I follow, this good
sword in hand. If the light goes out,
or if you blow it out, you are to be
pitied, for in either case, I swear by
Living God, I will run you through
with this sword "

" Ha-ha-ha " she fairly screamed
with laughter as she sprung to the
closet door " Behold the mystery "

And with her fair fingers she point
ed to the socket of the button, and to
the centre of the door. The door had
been sprung, as it is termed, by tho
weather. That is, the centre bulged
inward, leaving the edge toward the
door-post to press the contrary direc
tion. The socket of the button, by
continual wear, had been increased to
twice its original size. Whenever the
door was first buttoned, the head of
the screw pressed against one of the
edges of the socket. In a moment tho
pressure of the edge of the door, which
you will remember was directed out
ward, dislodged the head of the screw
and it sank, vvell-ni^h half an inch

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

into the worn socket of the button.
Then the button, removed farther
from the door than at first, would
slowly turn, and the door spring open.
All this was plain enough, and I smiled
at my recent fright.

" Very good, Emily " I laughed
" But the mystery of this sword
what of that ? I made a lunge in the
closet and it touched nothing "

" You are suspicious, Boyd " she
answered with a laugh "But the
fact is, the closet is rather a deep
one"

" Rather " said I " and so are
you, my dear "

There may have been something
very meaning in my manner, but cer
tainly, although her full black eyes
looked fixedly on me, yet I thought
her face grew a shade paler as I
spoke.

" And my dear " I continued
" What do you make of the face peep
ing through the window : "

" All fancy all fancy " she re
plied, but as she spoke I saw her eye
glance hurriedly toward the very win
dow. Did she too fear that she might
behold the face ?

" We will search the closet " I
remarked, throwing open the door
" What have we here 1 Nothing but
an old cloak hanging to a hook let s
try it with my sword !"

Again I made a lunge with my
ssvord : again I thrust at the empty
air.

" Emily, there is a room beyond
this cloak you will enter first if you
please. Remember my warning about
the light if you please "

" Oh now that I remember, this
cioset does open into the next room "

she said gaily, althougi her cheeK
so it struck me grew JL little paler
and her lip trembled slightly*" I
had quite forgotten the circum
stance "

"Enter Emily, and don t forget
the light "

She flung the door aside and passed
on with the light in her hand. I fol
lowed her. We stood in a small room,
lighted like the other by an oblong
window. There was no other window,
no door, no outlet of any sort. Even
a chimney-place was wanting. In one
corner stood a massive bed the quilf
was unruffled. Two or three old
fashioned chairs were scattered round
the room, and from the spot where I
stood looking over the foot of the bed,
[ could see the top of another chair,
and nothing more, between the bed
and the wall.

A trifling fact in Emily s behavioui
may be remarked. The moment the
ight of the lamp which she held in her
land flashed round the room, she
urned to me with a smile, and leading
he way round the corner of the foot
of the bed, asked me in a pleasant
voice " Did I see any thing remarkable
there ?"

She shaded her eyes from the lamp
as she spoke, and toyed me playfully
under the chin. You will bear in
mind that at this moment, I had turn
ed my face toward the closet by which
we had entered. My back was there
fore toward the part of the room mos*
remote from the closet. It was a tri
fling fact, but I may as well tell you,
that the manner in which Emily held
the light, threw that portion of the
room, between the foot of the bed and
the wall in complete shadow, while

THE MONKS OF MONK-HALL.

the rest of the chamber was bright as
day.

Smilingly Emily toyed me under
the chin, and at that moment I thought
she looked extremely beautiful.

By Jove! I wish you could have
seen her eyes shine, and her cheek
Lord bless you a full blown rose
wasn t a circumstance to it. She
looked so beautiful, in fact, as she
came sideling up to me, that I stepped
backward in order to have a full view
of her before I pressed a kiss on her
pouting lips. I did step back, and did
kiss her. It wasn t singular, perhaps,
but her lips were hot as a coal. Again
she advanced to me, again chucked
me under the chin. Again I stepped
back to look at her, again I wished to
taste her lips so pouting, but rather
warm, when

To tell you the truth, stranger, even
at this late day the remembrance
makes my blood run cold !

When I heard a sound like

the sweeping of a tree-limb against
a closed shutter, it was so faint and
distant, and a stream of cold air came
rushing up my back.

I turned around carelessly to ascer
tain the cause. I took but a single
glance, and then by G d I
sprung at least ten feet from the place.
There, at my very back, between the
bed and the wall, opposite its foot, I
beheld a carpeted space some three
feet square, sinking slowly down, and
separating itself from the floor. I had
stepped my foot upon the spring
made ready for me, to be sure and
the t.ap-door sank below me.

You may suppose my feelings were
somewhat excited. In truth, my
heart, for a moment, felt as though it

was turning to a bal) of ice. First ?
looked at the trap-d jor and then at
Emily. Her face WLS pale as ashes,
and she leaned, trembling, against the
bedpost. Advancing, sword in hand,
I gazed down the trap-door. Great
God ! how dark and gloomy the pit
looked ! From room to room, from
floor to floor, a succession of traps
had fallen far below it looked like
a mile, although that was but an ex
aggeration natural to a highly excited
mind far, far below gleamed a light,
and a buzzing murmur came up this
hatchway of death.

Stooping slowly down, sword in
hand, my eye on the alert for Miss
Emily, I disengaged a piece of linen,
from a nail, near the edge of the trap
door. Where the linen it was a shirt
wristband had been fastened, the car
pet was slightly torn, as though a man
in falling had grasped it with his finger
ends.

The wristband was, in more correct
language, a ruffle for the wrist. It
came to my mind, in this moment, that
I had often ridiculed Paul Western for
his queer old bachelor ways. Among
other odd notions, he had worn ruf
fles at his wrist. As I gathered this
little piece of linen in my grasp, the
trap-door slowly rose. I turned to
ook for Miss Emily, she had changed
tier position, and stood pressing her
band against the opposite wall.

" Now, Miss Emily, my dear " I
cried, advancing toward her " Give
me a plain answer to a plain question
and tell me what in the devil do
you think of yourself?"

Perfectly white in the face, she
glided across the room and stood at the
foot of the bed, in her fcrmer position

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

leaning against the post for support.
You will observe that her form con
cealed the chair, whose top I had only
seen across the bed.

" Step aside, Miss Emily, my dear
" I said, in as quiet a tone as I
could command " Or you see, my
lady, I ll have to use a little necessary
force"

Instead of stepping aside, as a
peaceable woman would have done,
she sits right down in the chair, fixing
those full black eyes of her s on my
face, with a glance that looked very
much like madness.

Extending my hand, I raised her
from the seat. She rested like a dead
weight in my arms. She had fainted.
Wrapped in her night-gown, I laid her
on the bed, and then examined the
chair in the corner. Something about
this chair attracted my attention. A
coat hung over the round a blue
coat with metal buttons. A buff vest
hung under this coat ; and a high
stock, with a shirt collar.

I knew these things at once. They
oelonged to my friend, Paul Western.

" And so, my lady " I cried, for
getting that she had fainted; "Mr.
Western came home, from the theatre,
to his rooms, arrived just before us,
took off his coat and vest, and stock
and collar maybe was just about to
take off his boots when he stepped
on the spring and in a moment was
in _in h 11 "

Taking the light in one hand, I
dragged or carried her, into the other
room and laid her on the bed. After
half an hour or so, she came to her
senses.

:&lt; You s 3e you see " were her
first words uttered, with her eyes flash

ing like live-coals, and her lips white
as marble "You see, I could not
help it, for my father s curse was upon
him !"

She laughed wildly, and lay in my
arms a maniac.

Stranger, I ll make a short story of
the thing now. How I watched her
all night till broad day, how I escaped
from the house for Mr. Devil-Bug, it
seems, didn t suspect I knew anything
how I returned home without any news
of Paul Western, are matters as easy
to conceive as tell.

Why didn t I institute a search?
Fiddle-faddle! Blazon my name to
the world as a visiter to a Bagnio?
Sensible thing, that ! And then, al
though I was sure in my own soul,
that the clothes which I had discovered
belonged to Paul Western, it would
have been most difficult to establish
this fact in Court. One word more
and I have done.

Never since that night has Paul
Western been heard of by living man.
Never since that night has Emily
Walraven been seen in this breathing
world. You start. Let me whisper
a word in your ear. Suppose Emily
joined in Western s murder from mo
tives of revenge, what then were
Devil-Bug s ? (He of course was the
real murderer.) Why the money to be
sure. Why be troubled with Emily as
a witness of his guilt, or a sharer of
his money? This is rather a a
dark house, and it s my opinion,
stranger, that he murdered her too !

Ha-ha why here s all the room
to ourselves ! All the club have either
dissappeared, or lie drunk on the floor !
I saw Fitz-Cowles I know him
sneak off a few moments since I

THE MONKS OF MONK-HALL.

could tell by his eye that he is after
some devils-trick! The parson has
gone, and the judge has gone, the
lawyer has fallen among the slain,
and so, wishing you good night,
stranger, I ll vanish ! Beware of the
Monks of Monk-hall!"

Byrnewood was alone.

His head was depressed, his arms
were folded, and his eye, gazing
vacantly on the table, shone and
glistened with the internal agitation of
his brain. He sate there, silent, mo
tionless, awed to the very soul. The
story of the stranger had thrilled him
to the heart, had aroused a strange
train of thought, and now rested like
an oppressive weight upon his brain.

Byrnewood gazed around. With a
sudden effort he shook off the spell
of absence which mingled with an
incomprehensible feeling of awe, had
enchained his faculties. He looked
around the room. He was, indeed,
alone. Above him, the hideous Satyr
chandelier, .still flared its red light
ever the table, over the mirror, and
along the gloomy wainscot of the
walls. Around the table, grouped in
various attitudes of unconscious drunk
enness, lay the members of the
drinking party, the merry Monks of
Monk-hall. There lay the poet, with
his sanguine face shining redly in the
light, while his hand rested on the
bare scalp of the wigless editor, there
snored some dozen merchants, all
doubled up together, like the slain in
battle, and there, a solitary doctor,
who had fallen asleep on his knees,
was dozing away with one eye wide
open, while his right hand brushed
away a solitary fly from his pimpled
nose.

The scene was not caicu i.teo to
produce the most serious feelings in
the world. There was inebriety
as the refined phrase it in every
shape, inebriety on its face, inebriety
with its mouth wide open, inebriety on
its knees brushing a fly from its nose,
inebriety groaning, grunting, or snor
ing, inebriety doubled up mingled in
a mass of limbs, heads and bodies,
woven together or flat inebriety sim\.
ly straightened out on its back with
its nose performing a select overture
of snores. To be brief, there, scatter
ed over the floor, lay drunkenness
as the vulgar will style it in every
shape, moddled after various patterns,
and taken by that ingenious artist, the
Bottle, fresh from real life.

Raising his eyes from the prostrate
members of the club, Byrnewood start-
ed with involuntary surprise as he be.
held, standing at the tables-head, the
black-robed figure of the Skeleton-
Monk, with his hand of bone flinging
aloft the goblet, while his fleshless
brow glared in the light, from the
shadow of the falling cowl. As
the light flickered to and fro, it gave
the grinning teeth of the Skeleton the
appearance of life and animation for a
single moment. Byrnewood thought
he beheld the teeth move in a ghastly
smile ; he even fancied that the orbless
sockets, gleaming beneath the white
brow, flashed with the glance of life,
and gazed sneeringly in his face.

He started with involuntary horror,
and then sate silent as before. And
as you can feel cold or heat steal ovei
you by slow degrees, so he felt that
same strange feeling of awe, which he
had known that night for the first time
in his life, come slowly over him

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

g like a shadow over his soul,
and stealing like a paralysis through
his every limb. He sate like a man
suddenly frozen.

" My God !" he murmured and
the sound of his voice frightened him
" How strange I feel ! Can this be
the first attack of some terrible dis
ease or is it, but the effect of the
horrible story related by the stranger ?
I have read in books that a feeling like
this steals over a man, just before
some terrible calamity breaks over his
head this is fearful as death itself!"

He was silent again, and then the
exclamation broke from his lips

" Lorrimer why does he not re
turn? He has been absent full an
hour what does it mean ? Can the
words of that pshaw ! that fortune
teller have any truth in them ? How
can Lorrimer injure me how can I
injure him? Three days hence
Christmas ha, ha I believe I m
going mad there s cold sweat on
my forehead "

As he spoke he raised his left hand
LO his brow, and in the action, the
gleam of a plain ring on his finger
met his eye. He kissed it suddenly,
and kissed it again and again ? Was
it the gift of his ladye-love ?

" God bless her God bless her !
Wo to the man who shall do her
vrong and yet poor Annie "

He rose suddenly from his seat and
strode towards the door.

" I know not why it is, but I feel as
:hough an invisible hand, was urging
me onward through the rooms of this
house ! And onward I will go, until
1 discover Lorrimer or solve the mys
tery of this den. Go&lt;? knows, I

feel pshaw ! I m only nervous
as though I was walking to my death
Passing through the narrow door-
way, he cautiously ascended the darK
staircase, and in a moment stood on
the first floor. The moon was stil
shining through the distant skylight,
down over the windings of the massive
stairway. All was silent as death
within the mansion. Not a sound, not
even the murmur of a voice or the
hushed tread of a footstep could be
heard. Winding his cloak tighily
around his limbs, Byrnewood rushed
up the staircase, traversing two steps
at a time, and treading softly, for fear
of discovery. He reached the second
floor. Still the place was silent and
dismal, still the column of moonlight
pouring through the skylight, over the
windings of the staircase only render
ed the surrounding darkness more
gloomy and indistinct. Up the wind
ing staircase he again resumed his
way, and in a moment stood upon the
landing or hall of the third floor. This
was an oblong space, with the doors
of many rooms fashioned in its walls.
Another stairway led upward from the
floor, but the attention of Byrnewood
was arrested by a single ray of light,
that for a moment flickered along the
thick darkness of the southern end of
the hall. Stepping forward hastily,
Byrnewood found all progress arrested
by the opposing front of a solid wall.
He gazed toward his left it was so
dark, that he could not see his hand
before his eyes. Turning his glance
to the right, as his vision became
more accustomed to the darkness, he
beheld the dim walls of a long corri
dor, at whose entrance he stood, and

THE MONKS OF MONK-HALL.

whose farther extreme was illumii.ed by
a light, that to all appearance, flashed
i rom an open door. Without a mo
ment s thought he strode along the
thickly carpeted passage of the corri
dor ; he stood in the full glow of the
light flashing from the open door.

Looking through the doorway, he
beheld a large chamber furnished in a
style of lavish magnificence, and
lighted by a splendid chandelier. It
was silent and deserted. From the
ceiling to the floor, along the wall op
posite the doorway, hung a curtain of
damask silk, trailing in heavy folds,
along the gorgeous carpet. Impelled
by the strange impulse, that had urged
him thus far, Byrnewood entered the
chamber, and without pausing to ad
mire its gorgeous appointments, strode
forward to the damask curtain.

He swung one of its hangings aside,
expecting to behold the extreme wall
of the chamber. To his entire wonder,
another chamber, as spacious as the
one in which he stood, lay open to his
gaze. The walls were all one gor
geous picture, evidently painted by a
master-hand. Blue skies, deep green
forests, dashing waterfalls and a cool
calm lake, in which fair women were
laving their limbs, broke on the eyes
of the intruder, as he turned his gaze
from wall to wall . A curtain of azure,
sprinkled with a border of golden
leaves, hung along the farther extre
mity of the room. In one corner
stood a massive bed, whose snow-
white counterpane, fell smoothly and
unruffled to the very floor, mingling
with the long curtains, which pure
and stainless as the counterpane, hung
a ound the couch in graceful festoons,
5

like the wings of a bird guarding its
resting place.

" The bridal-bed !" murmured
Byrnewood, as he flung the curtains
of gold and azure, hurriedly aside.

A murmur of surprise, mingled
with admiration, escaped from his
lips, as he beheld the small closet, for
it could scarcely be called a room,
which the undrawn curtaining threw
open to his gaze.

It was indeed a small and elegant
room, lined along its four sides with
drooping curtains of faint-hued crim
son silk. The ceiling itself was but a
continuation of these curtains, or
hangings, for they were gathered in
the centre, by a single star of gold.
The carpet on the floor was of the
same faint-crimson color, and the,
large sofa, placed along one side of
he apartment, was covered with vel
vet, that harmonized in hue, with both
carpet and hangings. On the snow-
white cloth, of a small table placed in
the centre of the room, stood a large
wax candle, burning in a candlestick
of silver, and flinging a subdued and
mellow light around the plate. There
was a neat little couch, standing in the
corner, with a toilette at its foot. The
quilt on the couch was ruffled, as
though some one had lately risen
from it, and the equipage of the toilette
looked as though it had been recently
used.

The faint light falling over the
hangings, whose hue resembled the
first flush of day, the luxurious sofa,
the neat though diminutive couch, the
small table in the centre, the carpet
whoee colors were in elegant harmony
with the hue of the curtains, all com

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

bined, gave the place an air of splen
did comfort if we may join these
incongruous words that indicated the
sleeping chamber of a lovely woman.

" This has been the resting place of
the bride " murmured Byrne wood,
gazing in admiration around the room
" It looks elegant it is true, but
if she is the innocent thing Lorrimer
would have me believe, then better for
her, to have slept in the foulest gutter
of the streets, than to have lain for an
instant in this woman-trap "

There was a woman s dress a
frock of plain black silk flung over
one of the rounds of the sofa. Anxious
to gather some idea of the form of the
bride oh foul prostitution of the
name ! from the shape of the dress,
Byrnewood raised the frock and ex
amined its details. As he did this, the
sound of voices came hushed and
murmuring to his ear from a room,
opposite the chamber which he had
but a moment left. Half occupied in
listening to these voices, Byrnewood
glanced at the dress which he held in
his hand, and as he took in its various
details of style and shape, the pupil of
his full black eye dilated, and his
cheek became colorless as death.

Then the room seemed to swim
around him, and he pressed his hand
forcibly against his brow, as if to
assure himself, that he was not en
tangled in the mazes of some hideous
dream.

Then, letting his own cloak and
the black silk dress fall on the floor at
once, he walked with a measured step
toward that side of the room opposite
the Painted Chamber.

The voices grew louder in the next
room. Byrnewood listened in silence.

His face was even paler than before,
and you could see how desperate waa
the effort which he made to suppress
an involuntary cry of horror, that
came rising to his lips. Extending his
hand, he pushed the curtain slightly
aside, and looked into the next room.

The extended hand fell like a dead
weight to his side.

Over his entire countenance flashed
a mingled expression of surprise, and
horror, and woe, that convulsed every
feature with a spasmodic movement,
and forced his large black eyes from
their very sockets. For a moment he
looked as if about to fall lifeless on the
floor, and then it was evident that he
exerted all his energies to control this
most fearful agitation. He pressed
both hands nervously against his fore
head, as though his brain was tortured
by internal flame. Then he reared
his form proudly erect, and stood ap
parently firm and self possessed, al
though his countenance looked more
like the face of a corpse than the face
of a living man.

And as he stood there, silent and
firm, although his very reason tottered
to its ruin, there glided to his back,
like an omen of death, pursuing the
footsteps of life, the distorted form of
the Door-keeper of Monk-hall, his huge
bony arms npraised, his hideous face
convulsed in a loathsome grin, while hife
solitary eye glared out from its sunkera
socket, like a flame lighted in a skull,
grotesque yet terrible.

In vain was the momentary firm
ness which Byrnewood had aroused to
his aid ! In vain was the effort that
suppressed his breath, that clenched
his hands,that forced the clammy sweat

MOTHER NANCY AND LONG-HAIRED BESS.

from his brow ! He felt the awful
agony that convulsed his soul rising
to his lips he would have given the
world to stifle it but in vain, in vain
were all his superhuman efforts !

One terrific howl, like the yell of a
man flung suddenly over a cataract,
broke from his lips. He thrust aside
the curtain, and strode madly through
its folds into the next room.

CHAPTER EIGHTH.

MOTHER NANCY AND LONG-HAIRED
BESS.

" So YE have lured the pretty dove
into the cage, at last " said the old
lady, with a pleasant smile, as she
poised a nice morsel of buttered toast
between her fingers " This tea is
most too weak a little more out of
the caddy, Bessie, dear. Lord! who d
a-thought you d a-caught the baby-face
so easy ! Does the kettle boil, my
dear 1 I put it on the fire before you
left, and you ve been away near an
hour, so it ought to be hissing hot by
this time. Caught her at last ! Hah-
hah hey? Bessie? You re a reg lar
keen one, I must say !"

And with these mild words the old
lady arranged the tea things on the
small table, covered with a neat white
cloth, and pouring out a cup of Gun
powder, chuckled pleasantly to her
self, as though she and the buttered
toast had a quiet little joke together.

" Spankin cold night, I tell ye,
Mother Nancy " exclaimed the
young lady in black, as she flung ner-
self in a chair, and tossed her bonnet

on the old sofa " Precious time I ve
had with that little chit of a thing!
Up one street and down another, I ve
been racing for this blessed hour!
And the regular white and black uns
I ve been forced to tell ! Oh crickey
don t mention em, I beg "

"Sit down, Bess sit down, Bessie^
that s a dove " said the delighted
old lady, crunching the toast between .
her toothless gums " and tell us all
about it from the first ! These things
are quite refreshin to us old stagers."

What a perfect old d 1 " mut
tered Bessie, as she drew her seat neai
the supper table " These oyster*
are quite delightful stewed to a turn,
I do declare " she continued, aloud
" Got a little drop o the * lively
hey, Mother?"

" Yes, dovey here s the key of
the closet. Get the bottle, my dear
A leetle jist a leetle don t go ugly
with one s tea "

While the tall and queenly Bessie
is engaged in securing a drop of the
lively, we will take a passing glance
at Mother Perkins, the respectable
Lady Abbess of Monk-hall.

As she sate in that formal arm-chair,
straight and erect, her portly form clad
in sombre black, with a plain white
collar around her neck and a bunch of
keys at her girdle, Mother Nancy
looked, for all the world, like a quiet
old body, whose only delight was to
scatter blessings around her, give
large alms to the poor, and bestow
unlimited amounts of tracts among the
vicious. A good, dear, old body, was
Mother Nancy, although her face was
not decidedly preposessing. A low
forehead, surmounted by a perfect

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

tower-of-Babel of a cap, a little sharp fed, all full of nooks and corners, and

nose looking out from two cheeks dis
posed in immense collops of yellowish
flesh, two small grey eyes encirclec
by a wilderness of wrinkles, a deep in
dentation where a mouth should hare
been, and a sharp chin, ornamentec

with a
beard ;

slight imperial of stiff grey
such were the details of a

countenance, on which seventy years
had showered their sins, and cares, anc
crimes, without making the dear olc
lady, for a moment, pause in her ca

reer.

And such a career ! God of Hea
ven! did womanhood, which in its
dawn, or bloom, or full maturity, is so
beautiful, which even in its decline is
lovely, which in trembling old age is
venerable, did womanhood ever sink
so low as this ? How many of the
graves in an hundred churchyards,
graves of the fair and beautiful, had
been dug by the gouty hands of the
vile old hag, who sate chuckling in her
quiet arm-chair ? How many of the
betrayed maidens, found rotting on the
rivers waves, dangling from the garret
rafter, starving in the streets, or resting,
vile and loathsome, in the Green
house;* how many of these will, at the
last day when the accounts of this
lovely earth will be closed forever,
rise up and curse the old hag with
their ruin, with their shame, with their
unwept death ?

The details of the old lady s room
by no means indicated her disposition,
or the course of her life. It was a
fine old room with walls neatly paper-

The house for the unknown dead.

warmed by a cheerful wood fire blaz
ing on the spacious hearth. One whole
side of the room seemed to have been
attacked with some strange eruptive
disease, and broken out into an ery
sipelas of cupboards and closets. Aq
old desk that might have told a world
of wonders of Noah s Ark from its own
personal experience, could it have
spoken, stood in one corner, and a
large side- board, on whose top a fat
fellow of a decanter seemed drilling
some raw recruits of bottles and
glasses into military order, occupied
one entire side of the room, or cell, of
the Lady Abbess.

There are few persons in the world
who have not a favourite of some kind,
either a baby, or a parrot, or a canary,
or a cat, or, in desperate cases, a pig.
Mother Nancy had her favourite as
well as less reputable people. A
huge bull dog, with sore eyes and a
ragged tail that seemed to have been
purchased at a second-had store during
the hard times lay nestling at the
old lady s feet, looking very much like
he candidate whom all the old and
surly dogs would choose for Alder
man, in case the canine race had the
Drivilege of electing an officer of that
lonorable class, among themselves.
Phis dog, so old bachelor-like and
aldermanic in appearance, the old lady
was wont to call by the name of
Dolph, being the short lor Dolphin, 1
of which remarkable fish the animal
was supposed to be a decided copy.

Here s the lively, Mother Nancy
" observed Miss Bessie, as she re
sumed her seat at the supper table
It s the real hot stuff and no mistake.
The oysters, if you please a ".ittle o f

MOTHER NANCY AND LONG-HAIRED-BESS.

that pepper Any mustard there? Now
then, Moth I-, let s be comfortable "

" But " observed the old lady pour
ing a glass of the Lively from a de
canter labelled Brandy "But Bessie
my love, I m a-waitin to hear all about
this little dove whom you trapped to
night "

It may be as well to remark that
Bessie, was a tall queenly girl of some
iwenty five, with a form that had once
been beautiful beyond description, and
even now in its ruins,was lovely to look
upon, while her faded face, marked by
a high brow and raven-black hair,
was still enlivened by the glance of
two large dark eyes, that were suscep-
table of any expression, love or hate,
revenge or jealousy ; anything but
fear. Her complexion was a very
faint brown with a deep rose-tint on
each cheek. She was still beautiful,
although a long career of dissipation
had given a faded look to the outlines
of her face, indenting a slight wrinkle
between her arching brows, and slight
ly discoloring the flesh beneath each
eye.

"This here Lively is first rate,
after the tramp I ve had " said Bes
sie as her eyes grew brighter with the
lively effects of the bottle " You
know Mother Nancy its three weeks
since Gus mentioned the thing to me

"What thing, my dear?"

"Why that he d like to have a little
Jove for himself something above the
common run. Something from the aris
tocracy of the Quaker City you
know r

"Yes my dear. Here Dolph here
Dolph-ee here s a nice bit for
Dolph"

* &lt; us agreed to give me something

handsome if I could manage it
for him, so I undertook the thing.
The bread if you please, Mother. You
know I m rather expert in such matters 7 *

"There ain t you beat my dear.
Be quiet Dolph that s a nice Dolph-
ee"

"For a week all my efforts were in
vain. I could nt discover anything
that was likely to suit the taste of
Gus At last he put me on the right
track himself

"He did, did he ? Ah deary me, but
Gus is a regular lark. You can t per-
duce his ekle "

"One day strolling up Third Street,
Gus was attracted by the sight of a
pretty girl, sitting at the window of a
wealthy merchant, who has just re
tired from business. You ve heard of
old Arlington? Try the Lively
Mother. Gus made some enquiries ;
found that the young lady had just re
turned, from the Moravian boarding
school at Bethlehem. She was inno
cent, inexperienced, and all that. Suit
ed Lorrimers taste. He swore he d
have her."

"So you undertook to catch her,
did ye? Butter my dear?"

"That did I. The way I managed
it was a caution. Dressing myself in
solemn black, I strolled along Third
street, one mild winter evening, some
two weeks since. Mary that s her
name was standing at the front door,
gazing carelessly down the street.
I tripped up the steps and asked in my
most winning tone "

"You can act the lady when you
like, Bess. That s a fact."

"Whether Mr. Elmwood lived there?
Of course she answered No But in
making an apology for my intrusion, I

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

managed to state that Mr. Elmwood
was my uncle, that I had just come to
the city on a visit,and had left my aunt s
in Spruce street, but a few moments
ago, thinking to pay a nice little call on
my dear old relative "

"Just like you Bessie ! So you scrap
ed acquaintance with her ?"

"Fresh from boarding school, as
ignorant of the world as the babe un
born, the girl was interested in me, I
suppose, and swallowed the white uns
I told her, without a single suspicion,
The next day about noon, I met her
is she was hurrying to see an old
aunt, who lived two or three Squares
below her father s house. She was all
in a glow, for she had been hurrying
along rather fast, anxious to reach her
aunt s house, as soon as possible. I
spoke to her proposed a walk she
assented with a smile of pleasure. I
I told her a long story of my sorrows ;
how I had been engaged to be married,
how my lover had died of consump
tion but a month ago ; that he was
sich a nice young man, with curly hair,
and hazel eyes, and that I was in black
for his death. I put peach fur over
her eyes,by whole hand s full I tell you.
The girl was interested, and like all
young girls, she was delighted to be
come the confidante of an amiable
young lady, who had a little love-ro
mance of real life, to disclose. Oys
ters, Mother Nancy "

"The long and short of it was, that
you wormed yourself into her confi
dence? That it my dear? Keep
still Dolph or Dolph s mommy would
drop little bit of hot tea on Dolph s
head"

"We walked out together for three
days, just toward dark in the evening.

You can fancy Mother, how 1 wouna
myself into the heart of this young
girl. Closer and closer every day I
tightened the cords that bound us, arid
on the third evening I believe she would
have died for me. "

"Well, well child, when did Gusty
first speak to her ? A little more of
the "Gunpowder" my dear "

"One evening I persuaded her to take
a stroll along Chesnut Street with me.
Gus was at our heels you may be sure.
He passed on a little-a-head determin
ing to speak to her, at all hazards. She
saved him the trouble. Lord love you
Mother Nancy, she spoke to him
first"

"Be still Dolph be still Dolph-ee ;
Now Bessie that s a leetle too strong !
Not the tea, but the story. She so in-
nocent and baby-like speak first to -4
strange man ? Ask me to believe in
tea made out of turnip tops will ye ? "

"She mistook him for a Mr. Bel-
mont whom she had seen at Bethlehem.
He did not undeceive her, until she
was completely in his power. He
walked by her side that evening up
and down Chesnut Street, for nearly
an hour. I saw at once, that her girl
ish fancy was caught by his smooth
tongue, and handsome form. The
next night he met us again, and the
next, and the next Lord pity her
the poor child was now entirely at his
mercy "

"Ha ha Gusty is sich a devil.
Put the kettle on the fire my dear.
Let s try a little of the Lively. And
how did she this baby-faced doll
keep these walks secret from the eyes
of her folks? Eh? Bessie?"

"Easy as that "replied Bessie
gracefully snapping her fingers

MOTHER NANCY AND LONG-HAIRED-BESS.

* Every time she went out, she told
father and mother that she went to
see her old Aunt. I hinted at first,
that our friendship would be more ro
mantic, if concealed from all intrusive
eyes. The girl took the hint. Lor-
rimer with his smooth tongue, told her
a long story about his eccentric uncle
who had sworn he should not marry,
for years to come ; and therefore he
was obliged to keep his attentions to
her, hidden from both of their families.
Gusty was dependent on this old un
cle you know 1 Once married, the
old uncle would relent as he be
held the beauty and innocence of the
young wife ! So Gusty made her
believe. You can imagine the whole
trap. We had her in our power.
Last night she consented to leave her
home for Lor rimer s fami ly mansion.
He was to marry her, the approval of
his uncle that imaginary old Gen
tleman was to be obtained, and on
Christmas Eve, Mr. and ha, ha,
ha - - Mistress Lorrimer, were to rush
into old Middleton s house, fall on their
knees, invoke the old man s blessing ;
be forgiven and be happy ! Hand us
the toast Mother Nancy "

"And to night the girl did leave the
old folks house? Entered the door
of Monk-hall, thinking it was Lorri
mer s family Mansion, and to-morrow
morning at three o clock will be mar
riedeh? Bess?"

"Married, pshaw ! Over the left.
Lorrimer said he would get that fellow
Petriken to personate the Parson
Mutchins the gambler, acts the old un
cle ; you, Mother Nancy must, dress
up for the kind and amiable grand
ma suit you to a T ? Lorrimer

pays high for his rooms you know ?"

" Spose it must be done. It s now
aftei ten o clock. You left the baby-
face sleeping, eh ? At half-past two
you ll have to rouse her, to dress. Be
quiet Dolph or I ll scald its head
that s a dear. Now Bessie tell me
he truth, did you never regret that
you had undertaken the job? The
girl you say is so innocent?"

"Regret ? "cried Bess with a flash
ing eye " Why should I regret?
Have I not as good a right to the com
forts of a home, to the smile of a fa
ther, the love of a mother, as she ?
Have I not been robbed of all these ?
Of all that is most sacred to woman?
Is this innocent Mary, a whit better
than I was when the devil in human
shape first dragged me from my home?
I feel happy aye happy when I
can drag another woman, into the same
foul pit, where I am doomed to lie and
rot "J

"Yet this thing was so innocent "
cried the good old lady patting Dolph
on the head " I confess I laugh
at ail qualms all petty scruples, but
you were so different when first I knew
you you Emily, you "

"Emily " shrieked the other as
she sprung suddenly to he* 1 feet "
You hag of the devil call me by
that name again, and as God will judge
at the last day, I ll throttle you!"
She shook her clenched hand across
the table, and her eyes were bloodshot
with sudden rage "Emily!"
Your mother called you by that namje
when a little child " She cried with
j a burst of feeling, most fearful to be

hold in one so fallen " Your fa-

j ther blessed you by that name, the

j night before you fled from his roof

Emily ! Aye, Ae, the foul betray

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

er, whispered that name with a smile
as he entered the Chambei, from which
he never came forth again You re
member it old hell-cat, do ye 1 "

" Not so loud, Good G d, not so
loud " Cried the astonished Mo
ther Nancy " Abuse me Bessie
dear but not so loud ; down Dolph
don t mind the girl, she s mad not
so loud, I say "

" I can see him now !" cried the
fallen girl, as with her tall form raised
to its full height, she fixed her flashing
eye on vacancy "He enters the room

that room with the the trap-door
you know ? Good night, Emily, he
said, and smiled Emily? and my
father had cursed him ! I laid me
down and rested by another man s
side. He thought I slept. Slept ! ha,
ha ! When, with my entire soul, I
listened to the footsteps in the next
room ha, ha when I heard the
creaking sound of the falling trap,
when I drank in the cry of agony,
when I heard that name * Emily, oh
Emily, come shrieking up the pit of
death ! My father had cursed him,
and he died ! Emily oh my God"
and she wrung her hands in very agony
" Roll back the years of my life,
blot out the foul record of my sins, let
me, oh God you are all powerful
and can do it let me be a child
again, a little child, and though I
crawl through life in the rags of a
beggar, I will nev^r cease to bless
oh God to bless your name "

She fell heavily to her seat, and,
covering her face with her hands, wept
the scalding tears of guilt and shame.

" Gal s been a-takin opium "
said the old lady, calmly " And the
fit s con*o on her. Sarven her right.

Told her never to mix l^er brandy
with opium "

" Did I regret having undertaken
the ruin of the girl " said Bess, in a
whisper, that made even the old lady
start with surprise " Regret ? I tell
ye, old hell-dame as you are, that my
very heart strings seemed breaking
within me to-night, as I led her from
her home "

" What the d 1 did you do it for,
then ? Here s a nice Dolph eat a
piece o buttered toast that s a good
Dolph-ee "

"When the seducer first assailed
me " continued Bess, in an absent
tone " He assailed a woman, with a
mind stored with knowledge of the
world s ways, a soul full as crafty as
his own, a wit sharp and keen as ever
dropped poison or sweetness from a
woman s tongue! But this girl, so
child-like, so unsuspecting, so inno
cent ! my God ! how it wrung my
heart, when I first discovered that she
loved Lorrimer, loved him without one
shade of gross feeling, loved him with
out a doubt, warmly, devotedly, with
all the trustfulness of an angel-soul,
fresh from the hands of God ! Never

bird fell more helplessly into the
yawning jaws of the snake, that had
charmed it to ruin, than poor Mary
ell into the accursed wiles of Lorri-
ner ! And yet I, / aided him "

" So you did. The more shame for
you to harm sich a dove. Go up stairs,
my dear, and let her loose. We ll
consent, won t we ? Ha-ha ! Why
3ess, I thought you had more sense
han to go on this way. What will
become of you ?"

" I suppose that I will die in the
same ditch where the souls of so many

THE BRIDE.

of my vile sisterhood have crept forth
from their leprous bodies ? Eh, Mother
Nance ? Die in a ditch ? Emily 1 die
in a ditch ? And then in the next
world ha, ha, ha I see a big lake
of fire, on which souls are dancing
like rnoths in a candle ha, ha, ha !"

i4 Reely, gal, you must leave off
that opium. Gus promised you some
five or six hundred if you caught this
^al, and you can t go back now "

" Yes, yes, I know it ! I know it !
Forward s the word if the next step
plunges me in hell "

And the girl buried her face in her
hands, and was silent again. Let not
the reader wonder at the mass of con
tradictions, heaped together in the
character of this miserable wreck of a
woman. One moment conversing in
the slang of a brothel, like a thing
lapped from her birth in pollution ; the
next, whispering forth her ravings in
language indicative of the educated
woman of her purer days ; one instant
glorying in her shame, the next recoil
ing in horror as she viewed the dark
path which she had trodden, the
darker path which she was yet to
/read these paradoxes are things of
every day occurrence, only to be ex
plained, when the mass of good and
evil, found in every human heart, is
divided into distinct parts, no more to
mingle in one, no more to occasion an
eternal contest in the self-warring
heart of manj

" Well, well, Bessie go to bed
and sleep a little that s a dear "
said the old lady, with a pleasing
smile " Opium isn t good for you,
and you know it. A leetle nap ill do
you good. Sleep a bit, and then you ll
he right fresh for the wedding. Three

o clock you know Corne along,
Dolph, mommy must go tend to some
little things about the house Come
along, Dolph-ee Sleep a leetle, Bes
sie, that s a dear 1"

CHAPTER NINTH.

THE BRIDE.

A CHAPTER IN WHICH EVERY WOMAN MAY FIND

SOME LEAVES OF HER OWN HEART, READ WITH
THE EYES OF A HIGH AND HOLY LOVE.

" MARY !"

Oh sweetest name of woman ! name
by which some of us may hail a wife,
or a sister in heaven ; name so soft, and
rippling, and musical ; name of the
mother of Jesus, made holy by poetry
and religion ! how foully were you
profaned by the lips that whispered
your sound of gentleness in the sleep
er s ear!

" Mary !"

The fair girl stirred in her sleep,
and her lips dropped gently apart as
she whispered a single word

" Lorraine !"

" The assumed name of Lorrimer
" exclaimed the woman, who stood
by the bedside " Gus has some taste,
even in his vilest loves ! But, with
this girl this child good Heaven?
how refined ! He shrunk at the very
idea of her voice whispering the name
which had been shouted by his devi&gt;
mates at a drinking bout ! So he to . -j
the girl to call him fcot Gusty, no
no, but something musical LOT
raine /"

And, stooping over the the couclu
the queenly woman, with her proud

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

form arrayed in a dress of snow
white silk, and her raven-black hair
gathered in thick tresses along her
neck, so full and round, applied her
lips to the ear of the sleeper and
whispered in a softened tone

* Mary ! Awake it is your wed
ding night !"

The room was still as death. Not
a sound save the faint breathing of the
sleeper ; all hushed and still. The
light of the wax candle standing on
the table in the centre of the Rose
Chamber as it was called fell
mild and softened over the hangings
of faint crimson, with the effect of
evening twilight.

The maiden pure and without
stain lay sleeping on the small
couch that occupied one corner of the
closet. Her fair limbs were enshroud
ed in the light folds of a night-robe,
and she lay in an attitude of perfect
repose, one glowing cheek resting
upon her uncovered arm, while over
the other, waved the loosened curls
of her glossy hair. The parting lips
disclosed her teeth, white as ivory,
while her youthful bosom came heav
ing up from the folds of her night-
robe, like a billow that trembles for a
moment in the moonlight, and then is
suddenly lost to view. She lay there
in all the ripening beauty of maiden
hood, the light falling gently over her
young limbs, their outlines marked by
the easy folds of her robe, resembling
in their roundness and richness of pro
portion, the swelling fulness of the
rose-bud that needs but another beam
of light, to open it into its perfect
bloom,

The arihing eyebrows, the closed

lids, with the long lashes resting on
the cheek, the parted lips, and r .he
round chin, with its smiling dimple,
all these were beautiful, but oh how
fair and beautiful the maiden s dreams .
Rosier than her cheek, sweeter thaa
her breath, lovelier than her kiss
lovely as her own stainless soul, on
whose leaves was written but one
motto of simple meaning " Love in
life, in death, and for ever."

And in all her dreams she beheld
but one form, heard the whisper of
but one voice, shared the sympathies
of but one heart ! He was her dream,
her life, her God him had she trust
ed with her all, in earth or heaven,
him did she love withfthe uncalcu-
lating abandonment of self, that marks
the first passion of an innocent wo
man !j^

* And was there aught of earth in
this love ? Did the fever of sensual
passion throb in the pulses of her vir
gin blood 1 Did she love Loiimer be
cause his eye was bright, his form
magnificent, his countenance full of
healthy manliness ? No, no, no !
Shame on the fools of either sex, who
read the first love of a stainless wo
man, with the eyes of Sense. She
loved Lorrimer for a something which
he did not possess, which vile world
lings of his class never will possess.
For the magic with which her fancy
had enshrouded his face arid form, she
loved him, for the wierd fascination
which her own soul had flung around
his very existence, for a dream of

* The reader who desires to understand
thoroughly, the pure love of an innocent girl
for a corrupt libertine, will not fail to peruse
this passage.

THE BRIDE.

which he was the idol, for a waking
irance in which he walked as her
good Angel, for imagination, for fancy,
ibr any thing but sense, she loved
aim.

It was her first love.

She knew not that this fluttering
fascination, which bound her to his
slightest look or tone like the
charmed bird to the lulling music
which the snake is said to murmur,
as he ensnares his prey she knew
not that this fluttering fascination, was
but the blind admiration of the moth,
as it floats in the light of the flame,
which will at last consume it.

She knew not that in her own or
ganization, were hidden the sympa
thies of an animal as well as of an
intellectual nature, that the blood in
her veins only waited an opportunity
to betray her, that in the very atmos
phere of the holiest love of woman,
crouched a sleeping fiend, who at the
first whisperings of her Wronger,
would arise with hot breath and blood
shot eyes, to wreak eternal ruin on her,
woman s-honor.

r" For this is the doctrine we deem it
right to hold in regard to woman.
Like man she is a combination of an
animal, with an intellectual nature.
Unlike man her animal nature is a
passive thing, that must be roused ere
it will develope itself in action. Let
the intellectual nature of woman, be
the only object of man s influence, and
woman will love him most holily.
But let him play with her animal na
ture as you would toy with the ma
chinery of a watch, let him rouse the
treacherous blood, let him fan the j
pulse into quick, feverish throbbings, j
let him varm the heart with convulsive i

beatings, and the woman becomes,
like himself, but a mere animal.
Sense rises like a vapor, and utterly
darkens Soul.

And shall we heap shame on wo
man, because man, neglecting her ho
liest nature, may devote all the ener
gies which God has given him, to rouse
her gross and earthy powers into ac
tion ? On whose head is the shame,
or whose the wrong ? i Oh, would man
but learn the solemn truth that no
angel around God s throne is purer
than Woman when her intellectual na
ture alone is stirred into developement,
that no devil crouching in the flames
of hell is fouler than Woman, when
her animal nature alone is roused into
action would man but learn and re
vere this fearful truth, would woman
but treasure it in her inmost soul, then
would never a shriek arise to heaven,
heaping curses on the betrayer s head,
then would never a wrong done to
maiden virtue, give the suicide s grave
its victim, then in truth, would woman
walk the earth, the spirit of light that
the holiest Lover ever deemed her !

And the maiden lay dreaming of
her lover, while the form of the tall
and stately woman, stood by the bed
side, .ike her Evil Angel, as with a
mingled smile and sneer, she bade the
girl arise, for it was her wedding night.
Her wedding night f

"Mary ! Awake it is your wed
ding night !"

Mary murmured in her sleep, and
then opened her large blue eyes, and
arose in the couch.

"Has he come?" were the first
words she murmured in her musical
tones, that came low and softened to
the listeners ear "Has he come ?"

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

"Not yet not yet my dear "
said long-haired Bess, assisting the
young maiden to rise from the couch,
with all imaginable tenderness of man
ner " You see Mary love, it s
half-past two o clock and over, and
of course, high time for you to dress.
Throw back your night-gown my love,
and let me arrange your hair. How
soft and silky it needs but little aid
from my hands, to render each tress
a perfect charm "

"Is it not very strange Bessie "
said Mary opening her large blue eyes
with a bewildered glance as she spoke.

"What is strange? I see nothing
strange except the remarkable beauty
of these curls "

"That I should first meet him, in
such a singular manner, that he should
love me, that for his sake I should fly
to his uncle s mansion and that you
Bessie my dear good friend should
consent from mere friendship to leave
your home and bear me company.
/Ail this is very strange how like
the stories we read in a book ! And
his stern old uncle you say has re
lented?"

"Perfectly resigned to the match
my dear. That s the way with all
these relations is not that curl per
fect ? when they ve made all the mis
chief they can, and find it amounts to
nothing, at the last moment they roll
up their eyes, and declare with a
sigh that they re resigned to the
match. And his dear old grand-ma
She lives here you know? There
that is right your curls should fall
in a shower over your snow-white
nec k The dear old lady is in a per
fect fever to see you ! She helped me

to get every thing read y foi the wed.
ding"

"Oh Bessie Is it not most sad ?
said Mary as her blue eyes shone with
a glance of deep feeling "To think
that Albert and you should love one
another, so fondly, and after all, that
he should die, leaving you alone in this
cheerless world ! How terrible ! If
Lorraine should die "

A deep shade of feeling passed over
Mary s face, and her lip trembled.
Bessie held her head down, for a mo
ment, as her fair fingers, ran twining
among the tresses of the Bride. Was
it to conceal a tear, or a smile ?

"Alas ! He is in his grave ! Yet
it is the memory of his love, that makes
me take such a warm interest in your
union with Lorraine. This plain fil
let of silver, with its diamond star -
how well it becomes your brow !
You never yet found a woman, who
knew what it was to love, that would
not fight for two true-hearted lovers,
against the world ! Do you think
Mary dear, that I could have sanc
tioned your flight to this house, if my
very soul had not been interested in
your happiness ? Not I not I .
Now slip off your night-gown my
dear Have you seen the wedding
dress?"

"It seems to me " said Mary,
whose thoughts dwelt solely on her
love for Lorrimer " That there is
something deeply touching in a wed
ding that is held at this hour of the
! night ! Every thing is calm and tran-
quil ; the earth lies sleeping, while
Heaven itself watches over the union
I of two hearts that are all in all to
each other "

THE BRIDE.

The words look plain and simple,
out the tone in which she spoke was
one of the deepest feeling. Her v.ery
soul was in her words. Her blue eyes
dilated with a sudden enthusiasm, and
the color went and came along her
glowing cheek, until it resembled a
fair flower, one moment resting in the
shade, the next bathing in the sunlight.

"Let me assist you to put on this
wedding dress. Is it not beautiful 1
That boddice of white silk was Lor-
rimer s taste. To be sure I gave the
dress-maker a few hints. Is it not per
fect 1 How gently the folds of the
skirt rest on your figure ! It is a per
fect fit, I do declare ! Why Mary
you are too beautiful ! Well, well,
handsome as he is, Lorrimer ought to
be half crazy with vanity, when such
a Bride is hanging on his arm !"

A few moments sufficed to array
the maiden for the bridal.

Mary stood erect on the floor, blush
after blush coursing over her cheek,
as she surveyed the folds of her gor
geous wedding dress.

Itjvas in truth a dress most worthy
of her face and form. From the shoul
ders to the waist her figure was en
veloped in a boddice of snow-white
satin, that gathered over her swelling
bosom, with such gracefulness of shape
that every beauty of her form, the
width of the shoulders, and the gra
dual falling off, of the outline of the
waist, was clearly perceptible.

Fitting closely around the bust,
it gave to view her fair round neck,
half-concealed by the drooping curls of
glossy hair, and a glimpse of each shoul
der, so delicate and white, swelling
away into the fullness of the virgin
bosom, that rose heaving above the

border of lace. From the waist down-
ward, in many a fold, but with per
feet adaptation to her form, the gor
geous skirt of satin, fell sweeping to
the floor, leaving one small and tiny
foot, enclosed in a neat slipper, that
clung to it as though it had grown
there, exposed to the eye.

The softened light falling over the
rose-hued hangings of the room,
threw the figure of the maiden out
from the dim back- ground, in gentle
and effective prominence. Her
brown tresses showering down over
each cheek, and falling along her
neck and shoulders, waved gently to
and fro, and caught a glossy richness
from the light. Her fair shoulders,
her full bosom, her long but not too
slender waist, the downward propor
tions of her figure, swelling with the
full outlines of ripening maidenhood ;
all arrayed in the graceful dress of
snow-white satin, stood out in the dim
light, relieved most effectively by the
rose-hued hangings, in the back
ground.

As yet her arms, unhidden by sleeve
or robe, gave their clear, transparent
skin, their fullness of outline, their
perfect loveliness of shape, all freely
to the light.

"Is it not a gorgeous dress ?" said
long-haired Bess, as she gazed with
unfeigned admiration upon the face
and form of the beautiful maiden
" As gorgeous, dear Mary, as you are
beautiful!"

" Oh it will be such a happy time !"
cried Mary, in a tone that scarcely
rose above a whisper, while her blue
eyes flashed with a glance of deep
emotion " There will sit my father
and there my mother, in t/ e cheerful

, 6

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

parlor on Christmas Eve ! My father s
grey hairs and my mother s kindly
face, will be lighted up by the same
glow of light. And their eyes will be
heavy with tears with weeping for
me, Bessie, their lost child, as they
will call me. When behold ! the door
opens, Lorraine enters with me, his
wife, yes, yes his wife by his side.
We fling ourselves at the feet of our
father and mother for they will be
oars, then ! We crave their forgive
ness ! Lorraine calls me his wife
we beg their forgiveness and their
blessing in the same breath ! Oh it
will be such a happy time ! And my
brother he will be there too he will
like Lorraine, for he has a noble
heart! Don t you see the picture,
Bessie ? I see it as plainly as though
it was this moment before me, and
my father oh how he will weep
when again he clasps his daughter in
his arms !"

There she stood, her fair hands
clasped trembling together, her eyes
flashing in ecstacy, while her heart,
throbbing and throbbing like some
wild bird, endeavoring to burst the bars
of its cage, sent her boscn heaving
into view.

Bessie made no reply. True she
attempted some common-place phrase,
but the words died in her throat. She
turned her head away, and thank
God, she was not yet fallen to the
lowest deep of woman s degradation
a tear, big and scalding, came rolling
down her cheek.

And while Mary stood with her
eyes gazing on the vacant air, with
the manner of one entranced, while
Bess pooi and fallen woman !

turned away her face to hide the fain
ing tear, the curtains that concealed
the entrance to the Painted Chamber
were suddenly thrust aside, and the
figure of a man came stealing along
with a noiseless footstep.

Gus Lorrimer, silent and unper-
ceived, in all the splendor of his
manly beauty, stood gazing upon the
form of his victim, with a glance of
deep and soul-felt admiration.

His tall form was shown to the ut
most advantage, by a plain suit of
black cloth. A dress coat of the most
exquisite shape, black pantaloons that
fitted neatly around his well-formea
limbs, a vest of plain white Marseilles,
gathering easily across the outlines 01
his massive chest, a snow-white shirt
front, and a falling collar, confined by
a simple black cravat ; such were the
brief details of his neat but effective
costume. His manly face was all in
a glow with health and excitement.
Clustering curls of dark brow hair
fell carelessly along his open brow.
His clear, dark-hazel eye, gave forth
a flashing glance, that failed to reveal
anything but the frank and manly
qualities of a generous heart. You
did not read the villian, in his glance
The aquiline nose, the rounded chin,
the curving lip, darkened by a grace
ful moustache, the arching eyebrows,
which gave additional effect to the
dark eyes; all formed the details of a
countenance that ever struck the be
holder with its beaming expression of
health, soul, and manliness, combined.

And as Gus Lorrimer stood gazing
in silent admiration upon his victim,
few of his boon companions would
have recognized, in his thoughtful

THE BRIDE.

countenance, the careless though hand
some face of the reveller, who gave life
and spirit to their drinking scenes.

The truth is, there were two Lorri
mers in owe. ( There was a careless,
dashing, hanSsome fellow who could
kill a basket of champagne with any
body, drive the neatest turn out in
the way of horse flesh that the town
ever saw, carry a frolic so far that
the watchman would feel bound to
take it up and carry it a little farther
This was the magnificent Gus Lor-
rimer.

And then there was a tall, hand
some man, with a thoughtful counte-
aance, and a deep, dark hazel eye,
tfho would sit down by the side of an
innocent woman, and whisper in her
ear, in a low-toned voice for hours to
gether, with an earnestness of manner
and an intensity of gaze, that failed
in its effect, not once in a hundred
times. Without any remarkable
knowledge derived from education,
this man knew every leaf of woman s
many-leaved heart, and knew how
to apply the revealings, which the fair
book opened to his gaze. His gaze,
in some cases, in itself was fascina
tion ; his low-toned voice, in too many
instances, whispered its sentences of
passion to ears, that heard it to their
eternal sorrow. This man threw his
whole soul, in his every passion. He
plead with a woman, like a man under
sentence of death pleading for his life.
Is it a wonder that he was but rarely
unsuccessful? This man, so deeply
read in woman s heart, was the * inner
man of the handsome fellow, with the
dashing exterior. Assuming a name,
never spoken to his ear, save in the

soft whispers of one of his many
victims, he styled himself Lorraine
Lorrimer.

" Oh, Bessie, is not this Love
a strange mystery?" exclaimed
Mary, as though communing with her
own heart ," Before I loved, my soul
was calm and quiet. I had no thought
beyond my school-books no deeper
mystery than my embroidery-frame.
Now the very air is changed. The
atmosphere in which I breathe is no
longer the same. Wherever I move
his face is before me. Whatever may
be my thoughts, the thought of him is
never absent for a moment. In my
dreams I see him smile. When
awake, his eyes, so deep, so burning
in their gaze even when he is ab
sent seem forever looking into mine.
Oh, Bessie tell me, tell me is it
given to man to adore his God ? Is it
not also given to woman to adore the
one she loves ? Woman s religion is
her love "

And as the beautiful enthusiast,
whose mind had been developed in
utter seclusion from the world^gave
forth these revelations of her heart, ir
broken and abrupt sentences, Lorri
mer drew a step nearer, and gazec
upon her with a look in which passion
rose predominent, even above admira-
ion.

" Oh, Bessie, can it be that his love
will ever grow cold ? Will his voice
ever lose its tones of gentleness, will
lis gaze ever cease to bind me to him,
as it enchains me now ?"

" Mary !" whispered a strange voica
n a low and softened murmur.

Sho turned hastily round, she beheld
he arms outspread to receive her, she

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

saw the manly face of him she loved
all a-glow with rapture, her fair blue
eyes returned his gaze, " Lorraine,"
she murmured, in a faint whisper, and
then her head rested upon his bosom,
while her form trembled in his em-
brace.

" Oh, Lorraine " she again mur
mured, as, with one fair hand resting
upon each arm of her lover, she gazed
upward in his face, while her blue eyes
shone with all the feeling of her in
most soul. " Oh Lorraine will
you love me ever?"

"Mary " he answered, gazing
down upon her blushing face, as he
uttered her name in a prolonged whis
per, that gave all its melody of sound to
her ear "Mary can you doubt me?"

And as there he stood gazing upon
that youthful face, now flushed over
with an expression of all-trusting love,
as he drank in the glance of her large
blue eyes, and felt her trembling form
resting gently in his arms, the foul
purpose of his heart was, for a mo
ment, forgotten, for a moment his
heart rose swelling within him, and
the thought flashed over his soul, that
for the fair creature, who hung fasci
nated on his every look, his life he
could willingly lay down.

" Ha-ha " muttered Bess, who
stood regarding the pair with a glance
of doubtful meaning -"I really be
lieve that Lorrimer is quite as much
in love, as the poor child ! Good idea,
that ! A man, whose heart has been
the highway of a thousand loves
a man like this, to fall in love with a
mere baby-face ! Mary, dear " she
continued aloud, too happy to break
the reverie which enchained the se
ducer anH his vi itim " Mary, dear,

hadn t I better help you to put on yom
wedding robe?"

Lorrimer turned and looked at her
with a sudden scowl of anger. In a
moment his face resumed its smile

" Mary " he cried, laughingly
" let me be your costumer, for once.
My hands must help you on with the
wedding robe. Nay, nay, you must
not deny me. Hand me the dress,
Bessie "

It was a splendid robe of the same
satin, as the other part of her dress.
Gathering tightly around her form, it
was designed to remain open in front,
while the skirt fell trailing along the
floor. Falling aside from the bust,
where outlines were so gracefully de
veloped by the tight-fitting boddice of
white satin, its opposite sides were con
nected by interlacing threads of silver-
cord, crossed and recrossed over the
heaving bosom. Long and drooping
sleeves, edged with silver lace, were
designed to give bewitching glimpses
of the maiden s full and rounded arms.
In fine, the whole dress was in the
style of some sixty years since, such
as our grand-dames designated by the
euphonious name of * a gown and
curricle.

"How well the dress becomes you
Mary !" exclaimed Lorrimer with
a smile as he flung the roue over her
shoulders " How elegant the fall
of that sleeve ! Ha ha Mary,
you must allow me to lace these silver
cords in front. I m afraid I would
make but an awkward lady s-maid,
What say you Bessie ? Mary, your
arms seem to love the light embrace
of these drooping sleeves. You must
forgive me, Mary, but I thought the
style of the dress would please you,

THE BRIDE,

o I asked our good friend Bessie htre
to have it made. By my soul, you
give additional beauty to the wedding
dress. Is she not beautiful Bessie ?"

"Most beautiful " exclaimed
Bess, as for the moment, her gaze of
unfeigned admiration was fixed upon
the Bride, arrayed in the full splen
dor of her wedding robes " Most
beautiful !"

"Mary, your hand " whispered
Lorrimer to the fair girl, who stood
blushing at his side.

With a heaving bosom, and a flash
ing eye, Mary slowly reached forth
her fair and delicate right hand.
Lorr mer grasped the trembling fin
gers within his own, and winding his
unoccupied arm around her waist he
suffered her head, with all its shower
of glossy tresses, to fall gently on his
shoulders. A blush, warm and sud
den, came over her face. He impress
ed one long and lingering kiss upon
her lips. They returned the pressure,
and clung to his lips as though they
had grown there.

"Mary, my own sweet love " he
murmured in a low tone, that thrilled
to her very heart "Now I kiss you
as the dearest thing to me in the wide
world. Another moment, and from
those same lips will I snatch the first
kiss of my lovely bride! To the
Wedding Room my love !"

Fair and blushing as the dawn,
stainless as the new-fallen snow, lov
ing as one of God s own cherubim, he
led her gently from the place, motion
ing onward with his hand as again
and again he whispered To the Wed
ding Room my love, to the Wedding
Room !"

"To the Wedding Room " echo

ed Bess who folllowed in her Brides-
maid robes "To the Weddmg\
Room ha, ha, ha, say rather to]
h 11 ! :

There was something most solemn,
not to say thoughtful and melancholy,
in the appearance of that lonely room.
It was wide and spacious, and warm
ed by invisible means, with heated air.
Huge panels of wainscotting covered
the lofty walls, and even the ceiling
was concealed by massive slabs of
dark walnut. The floor was all one
polished surface of mahogany, desti
tute of carpet or covering of any kind.
A few high-backed mahogany chairs,
standing along the walls, were the only
furniture of the place. The entrance
to the Rose Chamber, was concealed
by a dark curtain, and in the western,
and northern walls, were fashioned
two massive doors, formed like the
wainscotting, of dark and gloomy
walnut.

In the centre of the glittering ma-
hogany floor, arose a small table 01
altar, covered with a drooping cloth,
white and stainless as the driven snow.
Two massive wax candles, placed in
candlesticks of silver, stood on the
white cloth of the altar, imparting a
dim and dusky light to the room. In
that dim light the sombre panelling of
the walls and the ceiling, the burnish
ed floor of mahogany as dark as tho
walnut- wood that concealed the ceil
ing and the walls, looked heavy and
gloomy, as though the place was a
vault of death, instead of a cheerful
Wedding Room.

As yet the place was silent and so
litary. The light flickered dim rv
along the walls, and over the mahog-

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER

any floor, which shone like a rippling
lake in the moonlight. As you gazed
upon the desolate appearance of that
place, with the solitary wax lights
burning like two watching souls, in
the centre, you would haVe given the
world, to have seen the room tenanted
by living beings ; in its present still
ness and solitude, it looked so much
like, one of those chambers in olden
story, where the ghosts of a departed
family, were wont to assemble once
a year, in order to revive the memo
ries of their lives on earth.

It might have been three o clock,
or even half an hour later, when the
western door swung slowly open, and
the Clergyman, who was to solemnize
this marriage, came striding some
what unsteadily along the floor. Clad
in robes of flowing white he had
borrowed them from the Theatre
with a Prayer Book in his hand, Pe-
triken as he glanced uneasily around
the room, did not look at all unlike
a Minister of a particular class. His
long, square, lugubrious face, slightly
varied by red streaks around each
eye, was tortured into an expression
of the deepest solemnity. He took
his position in silence, near the Altar.

Then came the relenting Uncle,
striding heavily at the parson s heels
He was clad in a light blue coat
with metal buttons, a buff vest, striped
trowsers, and an enormous scarf,
whose mingled colors of blue and gold,
gathered closely around his short fat
neck. His full-moon face looking
very much like the face of a relent-
ng uncle, who is willing to bestow
mercy upon a wild young dog of a
nephew, to almost any extent afford
ed a pleasing relief to his pear-shaped

nose, which stood out in the light, like
a piece of carved work from a crim
son wall. Silently the relenting Un
cle, took his position beside the vene
rable Clergyman.

Then dressed in solemn black, the
respectedGrand-ma of the Bridegroom,
who was in such a fever to see the
Bride, came stepping mincingly along
the floor, glancing from side to side
with an amiable look that ruffled the
yellowish flesh of her colloped cheeks.

The imperial on her chin had been
softened down, and with the aid of a
glossy dress of black silk, and a tower
of Babel cap, she looked quite venera
ble. Had it not been for a certain
twinkle in her eyes, you could have
fallen in her arms and kissed her ;
she looked so much like one of those
dear old souls, who make mischief in
families and distribute tracts and cold
victuals to the poor. The Grand-ma
took her position on the left of the
Clergyman.

And in this position, gathered around
the Altar, they stood for some fivu
minutes silently awaiting the appear
ance af the Bridegroom and the Bride

CHAPTER TENTH.

THE BRIDAL.

"I SAY Mutchy, my boy " said
Petriken, in a tone that indicated
some lingering effects of his late de
bauch " How do I do it ? Clever

hey ? D ye like this face 1 Good

is it? If my magazine fails, I
think I ll enter the ministry for .gooct.
Why not start a Church of my own ?

THE BRIDAL.

When a man s fit for nothin else, he
can always find fools enough to build
him a church, and glorify him into a
saint "

" Do you think I do the Uncle
wel 1 ?" whispered Mutchins, drawing
his shirt collar up from the depths of
his scarf, into which it had fallen
" Devilish lucky you gave me the hint
in time. Been the d 1 to pay if we d
a-disappointed Gus. What am I to
say, Silly. Is she not beautiful / in a
sort of an aside tone, and then fall on
her neck and kiss her 1 Eh, Silly ?"

" That ill be coming it a little too
strong " said Petriken, smoothing
back his tow-colored hair " You re
merely to take her by the finger-tips,
and start as if her beauty overcame
you, then exclaim God bless you my
love, God bless you as though
your feelings were too strong for ut
terance "

" God bless you, my love r
echoed Mutchins " God bless you
that will do hey, Silly? I feel
quite an interest in her already. Now
Aunty, my dear and kind-hearted old
relative, what in the d 1 are you to
do?"

" Maybe I ll get up a convulsion or
two " said the dear old lady, as her
colloped cheeks waggled heavily with a
smile her enemies would have called
it a hideous grin " Maybe I ll do a
hysteric or so. Maybe I won t? Dear
me, I m in sich a fever to see my lit
tle pet of a grand-daughter ! Ain t I?"

"Hist!" whispered Petriken
" There they are in the next room.
I think I heard a kiss. Hush ! Here
they come d n it, I can t find the
marriage ceremony "

No sooner had the words passed his

lips, than Lorrimer appeared in the
small doorway opening into the Rose
Chamber, and stepped softly along
the floor of the Walnut Room. Mary
in all her beauty hung on his arm.
Her robe of satin wound round her
limbs, and trailed along the floor an
she walked. At her side came Long
haired Bess, glancing in the faces ot
the wedding guests with a meaning ,
smile.

" Nephew, I forgive you. God
bless you, my dear I approve my
nephew s choice God bless you, my
dear "

And, as though his feelings over
came him, Mutchins veiled his face in
a large red handkerchief; beneath
whose capacious shelter he covertly
supplied his mouth with a fresh morsel
of tobacco.

" And is this my grandchild ? Is
this the dear pet ? How I shall love
her ? Shan t I, grandson ? Oh my
precious, how do you do ?"

The clergyman saluted the bridt&gt;
with a low bow.

A deep blush came mantling over
Mary s face as she received these
words of affection and tokens of kind
ness from the Minister and the rela
tives of her husband, while a slight,
yet meaning, expression of di&gust
flashed over Lorrimer s features, as he
observed the manner in which his
minions and panders performed their
parts.

With a glance of fire, Lorrirnei
motioned the clergyman to proceed
with the ceremony.

This was the manner of the mar-
riage.

Hand joined in hand, Lorrimer and
I Mary stood before the altar. The

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

bridesmaid stood near the trembling
bride, whispering slight sentences of
consolation in her ear. On the right
hand of the clergyman, stood Mutch-
ins, his red round face, subdued into
an expression of the deepest solem
nity ; on the other side, the vile hag
of Monk-Hall, with folded arms, and
grinning lips, calmly surveyed the
face of the fair young bride.

In a deep-toned voice, Petriken be
gan the sublime marriage ceremony
of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
There was no hope for the bride now.
Trapped, decoyed, betrayed, she was
about to be offered up, a terrible sa
crifice, on that unhallowed altar. Her
trembling tones, joined with the deep
voice of Lorrimer in every response,
and the marriage ceremony, drew
near its completion. " There is no
hope for her now" muttered Bess,
as her face shone with a glance of
momentary compassion " She is
sold into the arms of shame !"

And at that moment, as the bride
stood in all her beauty before the al
tar, her eyes downcast, her long hair
showering down over her shoulders,
her face warming with blush after
blush, while her voice in low tones
murmured each trembling response of
the fatal ceremony, at the very mo
ment when Lorrimer gazing upon her
face with a look of the deepest satis
faction, fancied the fulfilment of the
maiden s dishonour, there shrieked
from the next chamber, a yell of such
superhuman agony and horror, that
the wedding guests were frozen with
u sudden awe, and transfixed like
figures of marble to the floor.

The book fell from Petriken s trem

bfing hands ; Mutchins turned pale,
and the old hag started backward
with sudden horror, while Bess stood
as though stricken with the touch of
death. Mary, poor Mary, grew white
as the grave-cloth, in the face ; her
hand dropped stiffly to her side, and
she felt her heart grow icy within her
bosom.

Lorrimer alone, fearless and un
daunted, turned in the direction from
vhence that fearful yell had shrieked,
and as he turned he started back with
evident surprise, mingled with some
feelings of horror and alarm.

There, striding along the floor,
came the figure of a young man,
whose footsteps trembled as he walk
ed, whose face was livid as the face
of a corpse, whose long black hair
waved wild and tangled, back from
his pale forehead. His eye Great
God ! it shone as with a gleam
from the flames of hell.

He moved his trembling lips, as he
came striding on for a moment the
word, he essayed to speak, stuck in
his throat.

At last with a wild movement of his
arms, he shouted in a voice whose
tones of horror, mingled with heart
rending pathos, no man would like
to hear twice in a life time, he shout
ed a single word

" MARY !"

The bride turned slowly round.
Her face was pale as death, and hei
blue eyes grew glassy as she turned
She beheld the form of the intruder.
One glance was enough.

" MY BROTHER !" she shrieked,
and started forward as though aboul

THE BRIDAL.

&gt; spring in the strangers arms ; but
suddenly recoiling she fell heavily
upon the breast of Lorrimer.

There was a moment of silence
all was hushed as the grave.

The stranger stood silent and mo
tionless, regarding the awe-striken
bridal party, with one settled and
burning gaze. One and all, they
shrank back as if blasted by his look.
Even Lorrimer turned his head aside
and held his breath, for very awe.

The stranger advanced another step,
and stood gazing in Lorrimer s face.

" My Sister /" he cried in a husky
voice, and then as if all further words
died in his throat, his face was con
vulsed by a spasmodic movement, and
he shook his clenched hand madly in
the seducer s face.

"Your name " cried Lorrimer,
as he laid the fainting form of the
Bride in the arms of Long-haired
Bess " Your name is Byrne wood.
This lady is named Mary Arlington.
There is some mistake here. The
lady is no sister of yours "

" My name " said the other, with
a ghastly smile " Ask this pale-faced
craven what is my name ! He intro
duced me to you, this night by my full
name. You at once forgot, all but my
first name. My name, sir, is Byrne-
wood Arlington. A name, sir, you
will have cause to remember in this
world and devil that you are ! in
the next if you harm the slightest hair
on the head of this innocent girl "

Lorrimer started back aghast. The
full horror of his mistake rushed upon
him. And in that moment, while the
fainting girl lay insensible in Bessie s
arms ; while Petriken, and Mutchbs,
and the haggard old Abbess of the

den, stood stncken dumb with astonish
ment, quailing beneath the glance of
the stranger ; a long and bony arm
was thrust from behind the back of
Byrnewood Arlington, the grim face
Devil-Bug shone for a moment in the
light, and then a massive hand with
talon-fingers, fell like a weight upon
the wick of each candle, and the room
was wrapt in midnight blackness.

Then there was a trampling of feet
to and fro, a gleam of light flashed for
a moment, through the passage, open
ing into the Rose Chamber, and then
all was dark again.

" They are bearing my sister
away !" was the thought that flashed
over the mind of the Brother, as he
rushed toward the passage of the Rose
Chamber " I will rescue her from
their grasp at the peril of my life !"

He rushed along, in the darkness,
toward the curtain that concealed the
entrance into the Rose Chamber. He
attempted to pass beyond the curtain,
but he was received in the embrace of
two muscular arms, that raised him
from his feet as though he had been a
mere child, and then dashed him to
the floor, with the impulse of a giant s
strength.

" Ha-ha-ha ! " laughed a hoarse
voice " You don t pass he"e, Mister.
Not while Bijah s about! No you
don t, my feller ha, ha, ha !"

"A light, Devil-Bug " exclaimed
a voice, that sounded from the centre
of the darkened room.

In a moment a light, grasped in the
talon -fingers of the Doorkeeper of
Monk-Hall, flashed around the place.
Silent and alone Gus Lorrimer, stood
in the centre of the room, his arms

8-4

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

folded across his breast, while the dark
frown on his brow was the only out
ward manifestation of the violence of
the struggle that had convulsed his
very soul, during that solitary mo
ment of utter darkness. Calling all
the resources of his mind to his aid,
he had resolved upon his course of
action.

"/ is a fearful remedy, but a sure
one " he muttered as he again faced
Byrnewood, who had just risen from
the floor, where he had been thrown
by Mr. Abijah K. Jones " Begone
Devil-Bug " he continued aloud
"But wait without and see that Glow
worm and Musquito are at hand," He
added in a meaning whisper. "Now
Sir, I have a word to say to you "
And as he spoke he confronted the
Brother of the girl, whose ruin he had
contrived with the ingenuity of an
accomplished libertine, mingled with
ail the craft of an incarnate fiend.

Aching in every limb from his re
cent fall, Byrnewood stood pale and
silent, regarding the libertine with a
settled gaze. In the effort to command
his feelings, he pressed his teeth against
his lower lip, until a thin line of blood
trickled down to his chin.

"You will allow that this, is a most
peculiar case " he exclaimed with
a calm gaze, as he confronted Byrne-
wood "One in fact, that demands
some painful thought. Will you favor
me with ten minutes private conversa
tion?"

"You are very polite " exclaimed
Byrnewood with a withering sneer
"Here is a man, who commits a wrong
for which h 11 itself has no name,
and then instead of shrinking from
the sight of the man he has injured,

beyond the power of .vords o tell ha
cooly demands ten minutes private
conversation !"

"It is your interest to grant my re
quest " replied Lorrimer, with a
manner as collected as though he had
merely said Pass the bottle, Byrne-
wood !

"I presume 1 must submit " re
plied Byrnewood "But after the ten
minutes are past remember that
there is not a fiend in hell whom I
would not sooner hug to my bosom,
than grant one moment s conversation
to a a man ha, ha a man
like you. My sister s honor may be
in your power. But remember that
as surely as you wrong her, so surely
you will pay for that wrong, with
your life "

"You then, grant me ten minutes
conversation ? You give me your
word that during this period, you will
eep your seat, and listen patiently to
all, that I may have to say? You nod
assent. Follow me, then. A footstep
or so this way, will lead us to a plea
sant room, the last of this range,
where we can talk the matter over "

He flung open the western door of
he Walnut room, and led the way
ilong a narrow entry, up a stairway
with some five steps, and in a moment
stood before a small doorway, closing
he passage at the head of the stairs.
At every footstep of the way, he held
he light extended at arms length, and
regarded Byrnewood with the cautious
lance of a man who is not certain
at what moment, a concealed enemy
may strike him in the back.

"My Library Sir " exclaimed
Lorrimer as pushing open the door, he
entered a small oblong roorr, some

THE BRIDAL.

,wenty-feet in length and about half
hat extent in width. "A quiet little
place where I sometimes amuse my
self with a book. There is a chair
Sir please be seated "

Seating himself upon a small stool,
that stood near the wall of the room,
furthest from the door, Byrnewood
with a single glance, took in all the
details of the place, It was a small
unpretending room, oblong in form,
with rows of shelves along its longest
walls, facing each other, supplied with
books of all classes, and of every des
cription, from the pondrous history to
the trashy novel. The other walls at
either end, were concealed by plain
and neat paper, of a modern pattern,
which by no means harmonized with
the ancient style of the carpet, whose
half-faded colors glowed dimly in the
light. Along the wall of the chamber
opposite Byrnewood, extended an old-
fashioned sofa, wide and roomy as a
small sleeping couch ; and from the
centre of the place, arose a massive
table, fashioned like a chest, with sub
stantial sides of carved oak, supply
ing the place of legs. To all appear .
ance it was fixed and jointed, into the
floor of the room.

Altogether the entire room, as its
details were dimly revealed by the
beams of the flickering lamp, wore a
cheerless and desolate look, increased
by the absence of windows from the
walls, and the ancient and worn-out
appearance which characterized the
stool, the sofa and the table ; the only
furniture of the place. There was no
visible hearth, and no sign of fire,
while the ~ir cold and chilling had a
Tiusty and unwholesome taint, as

though the room had not been visited
or opened for years.

Placing the lamp on the solitary ta
ble, Lorrimer flung himself carelessly
on the sofa, and motioned Byrnewood,
to draw his seat nearer to the light.
As Byrnewood seated himself beside
the chest-like table, with his cheek
resting on his hand, the full details of
his countenance, so pale, so colorless,
so corpse-like, were disclosed to the
keen gaze of Lorrimer. The face of
the Brother, was perfectly calm, al
though the large black eyes, dilated
with a glance that revealed the Soul,
turning madly on itself and gnawing
its own life, in very madness of
thought, while from the lips tightly
compressed, there still trickled down,
the same thin line of blood, ren
dered even more crimson and dis
tinct, by the extreme pallor of the
countenance.

" You will at least admit, that 7
have won the wager " said Lorri
mer, in a meaning tone, as he fixed
his gaze upon the death-like counte
nance of Byrnewood Arlington.

Byrnewood started, raised his hands
suddenly, as if about to grasp the liber
tine by the throat, and then folding his
arms tightly over his chest, he ex
claimed in a voice marked by unatural
calmness

" For ten minutes, sir, I have pro
mised to listen to all all you may
have to say. Go on, sir. But do not,
I beseech you, tempt me too far "

" Exactly half-past three by my re
peater " cooly replied Lorrimer,
looking at his watch " At twenty
minutes of four, our conversations ends.
Very good. Now, sir, listen to my

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

proposition. Give me your word of
honor, and your oath, that when you
leave this house, you will preserve the
most positive secrecy with regard to
to everything you may have
witnessed within its walls ; promise
me this, under your word of honor and
your solemn oath, and I will give you
my word of honor, my oath, that, in
one hour from daybreak, your sister
shall be taken to her home, pure and
stainless, as when first she left her fa

ther s threshold,
this ?"

Do you agree to

" Do you see this hand ?" answered
Byrnewood, with a nervous tremour
of- his lips, that imparted an almost
savage sneer to his countenance
" Do you see this flame 1 Sooner than
, agree to leave these walls, without
m y m y without Mary, pure and
stainless, mark ye,*! would hold this
good right hand in the blaze of this
lamp, until the flesh fell blackened and
festering from the very" bohe. Are
you answered?"

" Excuse me, sir I was not speak
ing of any anatomical experiments;
however interesting such little efforts
in the surgical line, may be to you. I
wished to make a compromise "

" A compromise /" echoed Byrne-
wood.

" Yes, a compromise. That melo
dramatic sneer becomes you well, but
it would suit the pantomimist at the
Walnut street Theatre much better.
What have I done with the girl, that you.
or* any other young blood about town,
would not do, under similar circum
stances. Who was it, that entered
so heartily into the joke of the sham

marriage, when
Oyster Cellar?

it was named in the
Who was it called

the

astrologer a

knave a forUiiw

teller a catch-penny cheat, when
he simple man ! advised me to
give up the girl ? I perceive, sir, you
are touched. I am glad to observe,
tbat you appreciate the graphic truth
of my remarks. You will not sneer
at the word compromise again, will
you ?"

"Oh, Mary! oh, Mary!" whisper
ed Byrnewood, drawing his arms yet
more closely over his breast, as though
in the effort to command his agitation
" Mary ! Was I placing your honor
in the dice-box, when I made the
wager with yonder man ? Was it
your ruin the astrologer foretold, when
he urged this devil to turn back in
his career? Was it my voice that
cheered him onward in his work of
infamy ? Oh Mary, was it for this
for this, that I loved you as brothei
never loved sister ? Was it for this,
that I wound you close to my inmost
heart, since first I could think or feel ?
Was it for this, that in the holiest of
all my memories, all my hopes, your
name was enshrined ? Was it for this,
that I pictured, again and again, every
hour in the day, every moment of the
night, the unclouded prospects of your
future life? Oh Mary, oh Mary, I
may be wrong, I may be vile, I may
be sunken as low as the man before
me, yet my love for you, has been
without spot, and without limit ! And
now Mary oh now "

He paused. There was a husky
sound in his throat, and the blood
trickled faster from his tortured lip.

Lorrimer looked at him silently for
a moment, and then, taking a small
pen-kriife from his pocket, began to
pare iis nails, with a quiet and absen*

THE BRIDAL.

air, as though he did nt exactly know
what to do with himself. He wore
the careless and easy look of a gentle
man, who having just dined, is
wondering where in the deuce he shall
spend the afternoon.

J I say, Byrnie my boy " he cried
suddenly, with his eyes fixed on the
operations of the knife " Devilish
odd, ain t it? That little affair of
yours, with Annie 1 Wonder if she
has any brother ? Keen cut that "

Had Mr. Lorrimer intended the allu
sion, about the keenness of the * cut,
for Byrnewood instead of his nail-par
ing knife, the remark would, perhaps,
have been equally applicable. Byrne-
wood shivered at the name of Annie,
as though an ague-fit had passed sud
denly over him. The * cut was rather
keen, and somewhat deep. This care
less kind of intellectual surgery, some
times makes ghastly wounds in the
soul, which it s6 pleasantly dissects.

" May I ask what will be your
course, in case you leave this place,
without the lady ? You are silent. I
suppose there will be a suit instituted
for abduction? and a thousand legal
et ceteras ? This place will be ransack
ed for the girl, and your humble ser
vant will be threatened with the Peni
tentiary ? A pleasant prospect, truly.
Why do you look so earnestly at that
hand?"

" You have your pleasant prospects
I have mine " exclaimed Byrne-
wood with a convulsive smile " You
see that right hand, do you ? I was
just thinking, how long it might be.
ere that hand would be reddened with
your heart s blood "

"Poh! poh! Such talk is d d

boyish. IVye agree to my proposition?
Yes or no?"

" You have had my answer "

" In case I surrender the girl to you,
will you then promise unbroken se
crecy, with regaifd to the events of
this night?"

" I will make no terms whatever
with a scoundrel and a coward!"
hissed Byrnewood, between his clench
ed teeth.

" Pshaw ! It is high time this mask
should be cast aside " exclaimed
Lorrimer, as his eye flashed with an
expression of triumph, mingled with
anger and scorn " And do you sup
pose that on any condition, or for any
consideration, I would leave this fair
prize slip from my grasp? Why, in
nocent that you are, you might have
piled oath on oath, until your very
breath grew husky in the effort, and
still still despite of all your oaths,
the girl would remain mine !

"Know me as I am ! Not the mere
man-about-town, not the wine-drink
ing companion, not the fashionable
addle-head you think me, but the
Man of Pleasure ! You will please
observe, how much lies concealed in
that title. You have talents these
talents have been from childhood, de
voted to books, or mercantile pursuits.
I have some talent I flatter myself
and that talent, aided and strengthened
in all its efforts, by wealth, from very
boyhood, has been devoted to Pleasure,
which, in plain English, means
Woman.

"Woman the means ot securing
her affection, of compassing her ruin,
of enjoying her beauty, has been my
book, my study, my science, nay my

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

profession from boyhood. And am I,
to be foiled in one of the most intricate
of all my adventures, by such a
child a mere boy like you ? Are
you to frighten me, to scare me back
in the path I have chosen ; to wrest
this flower, to obtain which I have
perilled so much, are you to wrest this
flower from my grasp ? You are so
strong, so mighty, you talk of redden
ing your hand in my heart s blood
and all such silly vaporing, that would
be hissed by the pit-boy s, if they but
heard it, spouted forth by a fifth-rate
hero of the green-room and yet
with all this you are my prisoner "

Your prisoner ?" echoed Byrne-
wood slowly rising to his feet.

"Keep cool Sir " cried Lorrimer
with a glance of scorn "Two mi
nutes of the ten, yet remain. I have
your word of honor, you will remem-
oer. Yes my prisoner! Why
do you suppose for a moment, that I
would let you go forth from this house,
when you have it in your power to
raise the whole city on my head ?
You know that 1 have placed myself
under the ban of the laws by this ad
venture. You know that the Peniten
tiary would open its doors to enclose
me, in case I was to be tried for this
affair. You know that popular indig
nation, poverty and disgrace, stare rne
in the very eyes, the moment this ad
venture is published to the world, and
yet ha, ha, ha you still think me,
the egregious ass, to open the doors
of Monk-Hall to you, and pleasantly
bid you go forth, and ruin rne forever !
Sir, you are my prisoner."

"Ha ha ha! I will be even
with you " laughed Byrne wood

"You may murder me, in the aft oul
I still have the power to arouse tho
neighbourhood. I can shriek for help.
I can yell out the cry of Murder, from
this foul den, until your doors are flung
open by the police,and the secrets of your
rookery laid bare to the public gaze "

"Scream, yell, cry out, until .your
throat cracks ! Who will hear you 1
Do you know how many feet, you are
standing, above the level of the earth ?
Do you know the thickness of these
walls ? Do you know that you stand
in the Tower-Room of Monk-Hall?
Try your voice by all means I
should like to hear you cry Murder or
Fire, or even hurra for some political
candidate, if the humor takes you "

Byrnewood sank slowly in his seat,
and rested his cheek upon his hand.
His face was even paler than before
the consciousness that he was in the
power of this libertine, for life or death,
or any act of outrage, came stealing
round his heart, like the probings of
a surgeon s knife.

"Go on Sir "he muttered biting
his nether lip, until the blood once
more came trickling down to his
chin "The hour is yours. Mine
will come "

"At my bidding ; not a moment
sooner " laughed Lorrimer rising
his feet " Why man, death sur
rounds you in a thousand forms,
and you know it not. You may walk on
Death, you may breathe it, you may
drink it, you may draw it to you with
a fingers-touch, and yet be as uncon
scious of its presence, as a blind man
is of a shadow in the night "

Byrnewood slowly rose from his
seat. He clasped his hands nervously

THE BRIDAL.

together, and his lips muttered an in
coherent sound as he endeavoured to
spea k.

; &lt; Do what you will with me " he
cried, in a husky voice " But oh, for
the sake of God, do not wrong my
mter /"

" She is in my power !" whispered
Lorrimer, with a smile, as he gazed
apon the agitated countenance of the
brother " She is in my power !"

" Then by the eternal God, you are
in mine !" shrieked Byrnewood, as
with one wild bound, he sprang at the
tall form of Lorrimer, and fixed both
hands around his throat, with a grasp
like that of the tigress when she fights
for her young " You are in my
power ! You cannot unloose my grasp !
Ha ha you grow black in the
face ! Struggle ! struggle ! With
all your strength you cannot tear my
hands from your throat you shall
die like a felon, by the eternal God !"

Lorrimer was taken by complete
surprise. The wild bound of Byrne-
wood had been so sudden, the grasp
of his hands, was so much like the
terrific clutch with which the drown
ing man makes a last struggle for life,
that for a single moment, the hand
some Gus Lorrimer reeled to and fro
like a drunken man. while his manly
features darkened over with a hue of
livid blackness, as ghastly as it was
instantaneous. The struggle lasted
but a single moment. With the con
vulsive grasp tightening around his
throat, Lorrimer sank suddenly on
one knee, dragging his antagonist with
him, and as he sank, extending his
arm, with an effort as desperate as that
which fixed the clinched fingers

around his throat, he struck Byrne-
wood a violent blow with his fist, di
rectly behind the ear. Byrnewood
sank senseless to the floor, his fingers
unclosing their grasp of Lorrimer s
throat, as slowly and stiffly as though
they were seized with a sudden cramp

" Pretty devilish and d d hasty !"
muttered Lorrimer, arranging his cra
vat and vest " Left the marks of his
fingers on my throat, I ll be bound !
Hallo Musquito! Hallo, Glow-worm
here s work for you !"

The door of the room swung sud
denly open, and the herculean negroes
stood in the doorway, their sable faces,
agitated by the same hideous grin,
while the sleeves of the red flannel
shirts, which formed their common
costume, rolled up to the shoulders
disclosed the iron-sinews of their jet-
black arms.

" Mark this man, I say "

" Yes Massa I doo-es "
chuckled Musquito, as his loathsome
lips, inclining suddenly downward to
ward the jaw, on either side of his
face, were convulsed by a brutal grin
" Dis nigger nebber mark a man
yet, but dat some/in cum ob it "

" Massa Gusty no want de critter to
go out ob dis ere door?" exclaimed
Glow-worm, as the long rows of his
teeth, bristling from his thick lips,
shone in the light like the fangs of
some strange beast " Spose he go
out ob dat door ? Spose de nigger
no mash him head, bad ? Ain t Glow
worm got fist ? Hah-hah ! Sketo
did you ebber see dis chile (child)
knock an ox down ? Hah-hah !"

" You are to watch outside the door
all night " exclaimed Lorrimer, as

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

he stood upon the threshold "Let
him not leave the room on the peril of
your lives. D ye mark me, fellows?"

And as he spoke, motioning the ne
groes from the room, he closed the
door and disappeared.

He had not gone a moment when
Byrnewood, recovering from the stun
ning effect of the blow which had saved
Lorrimer s life, slowly staggered to
his feet, and gazed around with a be
wildered glance.

" On Christmas Eve " he mur
mured wildly, as though repeating
words whispered to his ear in a dream
" On Christmas Eve, at the hour
of sundown, one of ye will die by the
other s hand the winding sheet is
woven and the coffin made /

CHAPTER ELEVENTH.

DEVIL-BUG.

IT don t skeer me, I tell ye ! For
six long years, day and night, it has
laid by my side, with its jaw broke
and its tongue stickin out, and yet I
ain t a bit skeered ! There it is now

on the left side, ye mind in the
light of the fire. Ain t it an ugly
corpse ? Hey ? A reel nasty Chris
tian, I tell ye ! Jist look at the knees,
d rawed up to the chin, jist look at the
eyes, hanging out on the cheeks, jist
look at the jaw all smashed and broke

look at the big, black tongue,
stickin from between the teeth say
it ain t an ugly corpse, will ye?

" Sometimes I can hear him groan

only sometime* ! I ve always no
ticed when anything bad is a-goin to

come across me, that critter groans
and groans ! Jist as I struck him
down, he lays afore me now. Whiz

wh-i-z he came down the hatch
way three stories, every bit of it !
Curse it, why hadn t I the last trap
door open 1 He fell on the floor, pretty
much mashed up, but but he wasn t
dead

" He riz on his feet. Just as he lays
on the floor in his shirt sleeves, with
his jaw broke and his tongue out he
riz on his feet. Didn t he groan ? I
put him down, I tell ye ! Down -~
down ! Ha ! What was a sledge ham
mer to this fist, in that pertikler min
nit 1 Crack, crack went the spring of
the last trap-door and the body fell

the devil knows where I don t.
I put it out o my sight, and yet it
came back to me, and crouched down
at my side, the next minnit. It s been
there ever since. If I sleep, or if I m
wide awake, it s there there al
ways on my left side, where I hain t
got no eye to see it, and yet I do I
do see it. What a cussed fool I was
arter all ! To kill him, and he not
got a cent in his pockets! Bah!
Whenever I think of it I grow fever
ish. And there he is now With his
d d ugly jaw. How he lolls his
tongue out and his eyes ! Ugh !
But I ain t a bit skeered. No. Not
me. I can bear wuss things than that
are"

The light from the blazing coal -fire,
streamed around the Doorkeeper s
den. Seated close by the grate, in a
crouching attitude, his feet drawn to
gether, his big hands grasping each
knee with a convulsive clutch, his
head lowered on his breast, and his
face, warmed to a crimson red by the

DEVIL-BUG.

glare of the flame, moistened with
thick drops of perspiration ; Devil-
Bug turned the orbless eye-socket to
the floor at his left side, as though it
was gifted with full powers of sight,
while his solitary eye, grew larger and
more burning in its fixed gaze, uutil
at last, it seemed to stand out, from
his overhanging brow, like a separate
flame.

The agitation of the man was at
once singular and fearful. Oozing from
his swarthy brow, the thick drops of
sweat fell trickling over his hideous
face, moistening his matted hair, until
it hung, damp and heavy over his
eyebrows. The lips of his wide mouth
receding to his flat nose and pointed
chin, disclosed the long rows of brist
ling teeth, fixed as closely together, as
though the man, had been suddenly
seized with lock-jaw. His face was
all one loathsome grimace, as with his
blazing eye, fixed upon the fire, he
seemed gazing upon the floor at his
left, with the shrunken and eyeless
socket, of the other side of his face.

This creature, who sate crouching
in the light of the fire, muttering
words of strange meaning to himself,
presented a fearful study for the Chris
tian and Philanthropist. His Soul
was like his body, a mass of hideous
and distorted energy.
^ Born in a brothel, the offspring of
foulest sin and pollution, he had grown
from very childhood, in full and con
tinual sight of scenes of vice, wretch
edness and squalor.

From his very birth, he had breath
ed an atmosphere of infamy.

To him, there was no such thing as
good in the world.

His world his place of birth, his
home in infancy, childhood and man
hood, his only thea^ie of action
had been the common house of ill-fame.
No mother had ever spoken words of
kindness to him ; no father had evei
held him in his arms. Sister, brother,
friends ; he had none of these. He
had come into the world without u
name ; his present one, being the stand
ing designation of the successiye Door
keepers of Monk-hall, which he in vain
endeavoured to assume, leaving the
slang title bestowed on him in child
hood, to die in forgetfulness.

Abijah K. Jones he might call him
self, but he was Devil-Bug still.

His loathsome look, his distorted
form, and hideous soul, all seemed to
crowd on his memory, at the same mo
ment, when the word Devil-Bug rang
on his ear. That word uttered, and he
stood apart from the human race ; that
word spoken, and he seemed to feel,
that he was something distinct from the
mass of men, a wild beast, a snake, 9.
reptile, or a devil incarnate any
thing but a man.

The same instinctive pleasure that
other men, may feel in acts of benevo
lence, of compassion or love, warmed
the breast of Devil-Bug, when enjoyed
in any deed, marked by especial cru
elty. This word will scarcely express
the instinctive impulse of his soul,
He loved not so much to kill, as to ob
serve the blood of his victim, fall drop
by drop, as to note the convulsive look
of death, as to hear the last throttling
rattle in the throat of the dying.

For years and years, the instinctive
impulse, had worked in his own bosom,
without vent. The murder which had
dyed his hands, with human blood for

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

I he first time, some six years ago,
opened wide to his soul, tne pathway of
crime, which it was his doom and his de-
) ight to tread. Ever since the night of the
Murder, his victim, hideous and repul
sive, had lain beside him, crushed and
mangled, as he fell through the death
trap. The corpse was never absent
from his fancy ; which in this instance
had assumed the place of eyesight. Did
he s it it was at his left side. Did
he walk crushed and mangled as it
was, it glided with him. Did he
sleep it still was at his side, ever
present with him, always staring him
in the face, with all its loathsome de
tails of horror and bloodshed.

Since the night of the Murder, a
longing desire had grown up, within
this creature, to lay another corpse be
side his solitary victim. Were there
he thought, two corses, ever at his
side, the terrible details of the man
gled form and crushed countenance of
the first, would loose half their horror,
all their distinctness. He longed to
surround himself with the Phantoms
of new victims. In the number of his
crimes, he even anticipated pleasure.

It was this man, this deplorable mo
ral monstrosity, who knew no God,
who feared no devil, whose existence
was one instinctive impulse of cruelty
and bloodshed, it was this Outlaw of
heaven and earth and hell, who held
the life of Byrne wood Arlington in
his grasp.

"It s near about mornin and that
ere boy ought to have somethin to eat
\ leetle to drink per aps? Now
^/p-pose, I should take him up, E
hiled chicken and a bottle o wine

He sits down by the table o course to
eat I fix his plate on a pertikler side.
As he planks down into the cheer, his
foot touches a spring. What is the
consekence ? He git s a fall and hurts
lisself. Sup-pose he drinks the wine?
Three stories down the hatchway
reether an ugly tumble. He git s cra
zy, and wont know nothin for days.
Very pecooliar wine got it from the
Doctor who used to come here dint
kill a man, only makes him mad-like.
The Man with th Poker is n t nothin
to this stuff Hallo ! Who s there ?"

" Only me, Bijah " cried a wo
man s voice, and the queenly form of
Long Haired Bess with a dark shawl
thrown over her bridesmaid s dress ad
vanced toward the light "I ve just
left Lorrimer. He s with the girl you
know ? He sent me down here, to tell
you to keep close watch on that young
fellow"

"Jist as if I could nt do it mesself
grunted Abijah in his grindstone
voice "Always a-orderin a feller
about? That s his way. Spose you
cant make yourself useful ? Kin you ?
Then take some biled chicken and
a bottle o wine up to the younk chap.
Guess he s most starved "

"Shall I get the chicken and the
wine ?" asked Bess gazing steadily in
Abijah s face.

"What the thunder you look in my
face that way fur 1 No you shant git
em. Git em mesself. Wait here
till I come back. Do nt let any one
in without the pass word What
hour of the night and the answer
Dinner time you know ?"

And as Devil-Bug strode heavily
from the den, and was heard going
down into the cellars of the mansion,

DEVIL-BUG.

Bess stood silent and erect before the
fire, her face, shadowed by an expres
sion of painful thought, while her
dark eyes, shot a wild glance from be
neath her arching brows, suddenly
compressed in a frown.

" Some mischief at work I sup
pose " s he whispered in a hissing
vo j ce "I ve sold myself to shame,
but not to Murder !"

A low knock resounded from the
front door.

Suddenly undrawing the bolt and
flinging the chain aside, Bess gazed
through a crevice of the opened door,
upon the new-comers, who stood be
yond the out-side door of green -blinds.

"Who s there?" she said in a low
voice.

"Ha ha " laughed one of the
strangers "It s bonny Bess. What
hour of the night is it, my dear ?"

" Dinner time , you fool " re
plied the young lady opening the out
side door "Come in Luke ! Ha !
There is a stranger with you ! Your
friend Luke ?"

" Aye, aye, Bessie my love, " an
swered Luke as he entered the den,
with the stranger at his side "Did
ye hear the Devil-Bug say, whether
there was fire in my room 1 all right
hey ? And cards you know Bess
cards ! This gentleman and T, want
to amuse ourselves with a little game.
Bye-the-bye where s Fitz-Cowles ?
I should like him to join us. Seen
him to night my dear?"

" Up stairs you know Luke " an-
8\ve~ed Bess with a meaning smile "
Veiled figure? Luke you know?
That s a game above your fancy I
should suppose ?"

And as she said this with an ex

pressive gance of her dark eye, Bess
observed that the stranger who ac
companied Luke, was a very tall, stout
man, wrapped up in a thick overcoat,
whose upraised collar, concealed his
face to the very eyes. His eyes were
visible for a single moment, how-
ever as half-hidden by the shadow of
Luke s figure, the stranger strode
swiftly across the floor of the den.
Bess started, with a feeling of terror,
akin to the awe one experiences in the
presence of a madman, as those eyes,
so calm and yet so burning in their
fixed gaze, flashed for a moment in
the red light.

"Luke, I am ready " said the
Stranger in a smothered voice "To
the room Luke to the Room /"

Without a word Luke led the way
from the den, and in a moment Bess^
heard the half-hushed sound of their
footsteps, as they ascended the stair-
case of the mansion.

"That s a strange eye for a man
who s only a-goin 9 to play cards"
muttered Bess as she stood by the fire,
place "Now it s more like the eye of
a man, who s been playin all night,
and lost his very soul in a game with
the D 1 ! Lord ! But that s a wick-
ed eye for a dark night !"

"Here s the biled chicken and the
wine" grated the harsh voice of
Devil-Bug, who approached the fire,
with a large waiter in his arms
"Take it up to the feller, Bess. He s
hungry praps ? And d ye mind gal-
set his plate on the side of the table,
furthest from the door?"

"Any particular reason for that,
Bijah?"

" Cuss it gal, cant you do it, with
out axeing questions 9 It s only n

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

whim o mine. That bottle is worth
its weight in red goold. Don t taste
such Madeery every day I tell you.
p oor fellow guess he s a-most
starved "

"Well, well, I ll take him the chick-
en and the wine " exclaimed Bess
pleasantly as she took possession of
the waiter with its cold chicken and
luscious wine "Hang it though,
when I come to think o it, why could nt
you have taken it up yourself? Bijah
you re growin lazy "

"Mind gal " grunted Devil-Bug
as the girl disappeared through the
door "Set his plate on the side of
the table furthest from the door. D ye
hear ? It s a whim o mine furthest
from the door d ye hear"

" Furthest from the door "echoed
Bess, and in a moment her footsteps
resounded with a low pattering noise
along the massive staircase.

"The Spring and the bottle "
muttered Devil-Bug as he resumed his
seat beside the fire " It seems to
me, I should like to creep up stairs,
and listen at his door to see how them
things work. The niggers is there :
but no matter. May be he ll howl
or groan or do all sorts of ravin s ?
Gusty did not exactly tell me to do all
this but I guess he ll grin as wide
as any body, when the thing is done.
It seems to me I should like, to see
how them things works. It ud be nice
to listen a bit at his door. Wonder if
that gal suspicions anything?"

He rubbed his hands earnestly to
gether, as a man is want to do, under
the influence of some pleasing idea,
and his solitary eye, dilated and spark
led, with a glance of the most remark

able satisfaction. A slight cmicklt;
shook his distorted frame, and his lips,
performed a succession of vivid spasms
which an ignorant observer might
have confounded under the general
name of laughter.

"Poor feller guess he s cold with
out a -fire " said complacent Devil-
Bug as he rubbed his hand cheerfully
together " I might build him a little
fire. I might I might ha! ha!
ha !" he arose slowly to his feet, and
laughed so loud, that the echoes of his
voice resounded from the den, along
the hall, and up the staircase of the
mansion "I might try that" he cried
with a hideous glow of exultation-
"Wonder how that would ivork ?"

Opening the door of a closet on one
side of the fire-place, he drew from its
depths, a small furnace of iron ; such
as housewives use for domestic pur
poses. He placed the furnace in the
full light of the fire, surveyed it close
ly, rubbed his hands pleasantly toge
ther yet once more, while a deep
chuckle shook his form, from head to
foot. His face wore an expression of
extreme good humor the visage of
a drunken loafer, as he flings a penny
to a ragged sweep, was nothing in
comparison.

"A leetle kindlin wood " he
muttered, drawing to the fire an old
sack that had lain concealed in the
darkness "And a leetle charcoal!
Makes a rougeing hot fire ! Fat pine
and charcoal ha, ha, ha ! Rather
guess the poor fellow s cold ! Now
for a light Cuss it how the fat pin
blazes !"

He waited but a single moment foi
the wood and charcoal to ignite It

DEVIL-BUG.

flared up at first in a smoky blaze, and
then subsided into a clear and brillian
flame. Seizing the iron handle of the
furnace Devil-Bug suddenly raised it
from the floor, and rushed from the
den, and up the staircase of the man
sion, as though his very life hung on
his speed. And as he ascended the
stairway, the light of the furnace
gradually increasing to a vivid flame,
was thrown upward over his hideous
face, turning the beetling brow, the
flat nose and the wide mouth with its
bristling teeth, to a hue of dusky red.
One moment as he swung the furnace
from side to side, you beheld his face
and form in a glow of blood red light,
and the next it was suddenly lost to
view, while the vessel of iron, with its
burning coals, seemed gliding up the
stairway, impelled by a single swarthy
Hand, with fingers like talons and
sinews starting out from the skin like
knotted cords.

"Halloo! I didn t know Monk
Luke was in his room " he mutter
ed, as he paused for a moment before
a massive door, opening into the hall,
which extended along the mansion,
above the first stairway " There s a
streak of light from the keyhole of his
door ! And voices inside the room
but no matter ! The charcoal s a-burn-
m and wonder how that* ill
work ?"

And up the staircase of the mansion
he pursued his way, flinging the blaz
ing furnace from side to side, while his
face, grew like the visage of a very
devil, as again the words rose to his
ips

" The charcoal s a-burnin won-
cier how Ma* ill work?"

The light still flickered through the
keyhole cf the massive door.

Within the sombre panels, it shone
over the rich furniture of an apart
ment, long and wide, with high
ceiling and wainscotted walls. The?
was a gorgeous carpet on the floor, a
thickly curtained bed in one corner, a
comfortable fire burning in the grate,
and a large table standing near the
centre of the room, on which a plain
lamp, darkened by a heavy shade, was
burning. The shade flung the light
of the lamp down over the table it
was covered with books, cards, and
wine glasses and around the carpet,
for the space of a yard or more, while
the other portions of the apartment,
were enveloped in faint twilight.

And in that dim light, near the fire,
stood two men, steadfastly regarding
each other in the face. The snake-
like eye of the tall and slender man,
was fixed in keen gaze upon the bronzed
face of his companion, whose stout
and imposing form seemed yet more
large and commanding in its propor
tions, as occasional flashes from the
fire-place lighted up the dim twilight,
[t was a strange thing, to see those
arge blue eyes, gleaming from the
bronzed face, with such a calm and
yet burning lustre.

" Luke to the the room "
whispered a roice, husky with sup
pressed agitation.

"He is calm " muttered Luke to
himself " I led him a d 1 of a \vay
n order to give him time to command
lis feelings. He is calm now and
it s too late to go back."

Extending his hand he reached a
small dark lanthern from the mantel*

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

piece, and walked softly across the
floor. Opening the door of a wide
closet, he motioned Livingstone to
approach.

" You see, this is rather a spacious
closet " Luke whispered, as silently
drawing Livingstone within the recess,
he closed the door, leaving them en
veloped in thick darkness " The
back wall of the closet, is nothing less
.han a portion of the wainscotting of
the next room. Give me your hand

it is firm, by G d ! Do you feel
that bolt? It s a little one, but once
withdrawn, the panelling swings
away from the closet like a door, and

egad ! the next room lays before
you!"

While Livingstone stood in the thick
darkness of the closet, silent as death,
Luke slowly drew the bolt. Another
touch, and the door would swing open
into the next room. Luke could hear
the hard breathing of the Merchant,
and the hand which he touched sud
denly became cold as ice.

As though by mere accident, in that
moment of suspense, when their joined
fingers touched the bolt, Harvey al
lowed the door of the dark lanthern, i
to spring suddenly open. The face
of Livingstone, every line and feature,
was disclosed in the light, with appal-
ing distinctness. Luke was prepared
for a sight of some interest, but no
sooner did the light fall on the Mer
chant s face, than he gave a start of
involuntary horror. It was as though
the face of a corpse, suddenly recalled
to life, had risen before him. White
and livid and ghastly, with the dis
colored circles of flesh deepening be
neath each eye, and with the large
blue eyes, steadily glaring from the

1 dark eyebrows, it was & countenance
to strike the very heart with fear and
horror. The firm lips wore a blueish
hue, as though the man had been dead
for days, and corruption was eating
its way through his vitals. Around
his high and massive brow, hung his
hair, in slight masses ; fearful streaks
of white resting like scattered ashes.,
among the locks of dark brown.

"Well, Luke you see I am
calm " whispered Livingstone, smil
ing, with his lips still compressed
** I am calm "

Luke slowly withdrew the bolt, and
closed the door of the lanthern. The
secret door, of the wainscotting swung
open with a faint noise.

" Listen !" he whispered to Living
stone, as the dark room lay before
them " Listen !"

And with his very breath hushed,
Livingstone silently listened. A low
sound like a woman breathing in her
sleep, came faintly to his ear. Luke
felt the Merchant start as though he
was reeling beneath a sudden blow.

" Give me the dark lanthern "
whispered Livingstone " The pistols
I have /" he continued, hissing the
words through his clinched teeth
* The room is dark, but I can discern
the outlines of the bed"

He pressed Luke by the hand with
a firm grasp, took the lanthern, care
fully closing its door, and strode with
a noiseless footsiep, into the dark
room.

Luke remained in the closet, listen
ing with hushed breath.

There was a pause for a moment.

It seemed an age to the listener. Not

j a sound, not a footstep, not even the

i rustling of the bed-curtains. All was

THE TOWER ROOM.

silent as the grave- vault, which has
riot been disturbed for years.

Luke listened. He leaned from
. he closet and gazed into the dark
room. It was indeed dark. Not the
outline of a chair, or a sofa, or the
slightest piece of furniture could he
discern. True, near the centre of the
place, arose a towering object, whose
outlines seemed a shade lighter than
the rest of the room. This might be
the bed, thought Luke, and again,
holding his breath, he listened for the
slightest sound.

All was dark and still.

Presently Luke heard a low gur
gling noise, like the sound produced
by a drowning man. Then all was
silent as before.

In a moment the gurgling noise was
heard again, and a sudden blaze of
light streamed around the room.

CHAPTER TWELFTH.

THE TOWER ROOM.

" MY sister is in his power, for any
act of wrong, for any deed of outrage !
And I cannot strike a blow in her de
fence ! A solitary wall may separate
as in one room the sister pleads with
the villain for mercy in the other,
trapped and imprisoned, the brother
hears her cry of agony, and cannot
cannot raise a finger in her behalf!
Ha! The door is fast I hear the
hushed breathing of negroes on the
&lt; other side. I have read many legends
\ of a place of torment in the other
world, but what devil could contrive a
hell like this ?"

He flung himself on the sofa, and
covered his face with his hands. The
lamp burning dimly on the solitary
table, flung a faint and dusky light
around the walls of the Tower Room.
Byrnewood lay in dim shadow,
with his limbs thrown carelessly along
the sofa, his outspread hands covering
his face, while the long curls of his
raven-black hair, fell wild and tangled
over his forehead. As he lay there,
with his dress disordered and his form
resting on the sofa, in an attitude
which, careless as it was, resembled
the crouching position of one who suf
fers from the cold chill succeeding
fever, you might have taken him for
an inanimate effigy, instead of a liv
ing and breathing man.

No heaving of the chest, no quick
and gasping respiration, no convulsive
movements of the fingers, indicated
the agitation which shook his soul to
its centre. He lay quiet and motion
less, his white hands, concealing his
livid face, while a single glimpse of
his forehead was visible between the
tangled locks of his raven hair.

The silence of the room was broken
by the creaking of the door, as it
swung slowly open.

Bess silently entered the room, hold
ing the waiter with the cold chicken
and bottle of Madeira in her hands.
She hurriedly closed the door and ad
vanced to the solitary table. Her face
was very pale, and her long dark
hair, hung in disordered tresses around
her full voluptuous neck. The dark
shawl which she had thrown over her
bridesmaid s dress, had fallen from her
shoulders and hung loosely from ner
arms as she walked. Her entire ap
pearance betrayed agitation and hast*

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

" He sleeps !" she murmured, ar
ranging the refreshments provided
by Devil-Bug along the surface of
the chest-like table " Fix his plate
on the side of the table furthest from
the door what could the monster
mean ? Ha ! There may be a secret
spring on that side of the table, which
the foot of the victim is designed to
touch. I ll warn him of his danger
and then, the bottle "

She said she would warn Byrne-
wood of his danger, and yet she linger
ed about the small table, her confused
and hurried manner betraying her ir
resolution and changeability of pur
pose. Byrnewood still lay silent and
motionless on the sofa. As far from
slumber as the victim writhing on the
rack, he was still unconscious of the
presence of Long-haired Bess. His
mind was utterly absorbed in the har
rowing details of the mental struggle,
that shook his soul to its foundations.

At first, arranging the knife and
plate on one side of the table, and then
on the other, now placing the bottle in
one position and again in another, it
was evident that Long-haired Bess
was absent, confused and deeply agi
tated. The side-long glance, which
every other instant, she threw over
her shoulder at the reclining form of
Byrnewood, was fraught with deep
and painful meaning. At last, with a
hurried footstep, she approached the
sofa, and glancing cautiously at the
door, which hung slightly ajar, she
laid her hand lightly on Byrnewood s
shoulder.

" I come to warn you of your
danger " she whispered in his
ear.

Byrnewood looked up in wonder

and then an expression of intolerab e
disgust impressed every line of his
countenance.

" Your touch is pollution " he
said, shaking her hand from his
shoulder "You were one of the
minions of the villain. You plotted
my sister s dishonor "

" I come to warn you of your
danger !" whispered Bess, with a
flashing eye " You behold refresh
ments spread for you on yonder table.
You see the bottle o wine. On peril
of your life don t drink anything "

"But rale good brandy " grated
a harsh voice at her shoulder
" Liqu-ood hell-fire for ever ! That s
the stuff, my feller ! Ha ! ha ! ha S"

With the same start of surprise,
Byrnewood sprang to his feet, and
Bess turned hurriedly around, while
their eyes were fixed upon the face of
the new-comer.

Devil-Bug, hideous and grinning,
with the furnace of burning coals in
his hand, stood before them. His
solitary eye rested upon the face of
Long-haired Bess with a meaning look,
and his visage passed through the series
of spasmodic contortions peculiar to h*s
expressive features, as he stood swing
ing the furnace from side to side.

" You can go, Bessie, my duck *
he said, with a pleasant way of speak
ing, original with himself. "This
ere party don t want you no more.
You see, my feller citizen " he con
tinued, turning to Byrnewood " yer
humble servant thought you might be
hungry, so he sent you suffin to eat.
Thought you might be cold ; so he
brung you some coals to warm yes-
self. You can re-tire, Bessie "

He gently led her to the door, fix-

THE Tt VVER ROOM.

iig his eye upon her face, wilh a look,
as full of venom as a spiders sting.

"You d a-spilt it all would yo ?"
he hissed the whisper in her ear as he
pushed her from the room "Good
night my dear " he continued a-
loud You better go home. Your
mammy s a waitin tea for you. Now
I ll make you a little bit o fire, Mis
ter, if you please "

"Fire?" echoed Byrnewpod "I
see no fire-place "

"That s all you know about it"
answered Devil-Bug swinging the
furnace from side to side " You
think them are s books do you ? Look
a little closer, next time. The walls
are only painted like books and
shelves false book-cases you see.
And then there s glass doors, jist like
real book-cases. They did it in the
old times them queer old chaps as
used to keep house here, all alone to
themselves. Nice fire-place aint it ?"

He opened two folding leaves of the
false book-case near the centre of the
wall opposite the door, and a small
fire-place neatly white-washed and
free from ashes or the remains of any
former fire, became visible. Stoop
ing on his knees, Devil -Bug proceeded
to arrange the furnace in the hearth,
while the half-closed folding leaves of
the book-case, well-nigh concealed
him from view.

"A false bookcase on either side of
the room ! Ha ! Books of all class
es, painted on the pannels, within the
.sashes, with inimitable skill ! They
deceived me, in the dim light of yon
der lamp. What can this mean ? By
my life, I shrewdly suspect, that these
bookcases, conceal secret
leading from this den "

Byrnewood flung himself on the
sofa, and again covered his face with
his hands.

" Blazes up quite comfortable "
muttered Devil-Bug, as half concealed
by the folding doors of the central
part of the bookcase, he stooped over
the furnace of blazing coal, warming
his hands in the flame. "A nice fire,
and a nice fire-place. But I ll have to
discharge my bricklayer for one
thing. Got him to fix up this
harth not long ago. Scoundrel walled
up the chimbley. Did ye ever
hear of sich rascality? Konse-
kence is, this young genelmen will be
rather uncomfortable a cause, the
charcoal smoke wont find no vent.
If I should happen to shut the door
right tight he might die. He might
so. Things jist as bad have happen-
ed afore now. He might die. Ha
ha ha " he chuckled as he retired
from the fire-place, screening the bla
zing furnace, with the half-closed
doors of the book-case "Wonder
how that ill work !"

He approached the side of Byrne-
wood, with that same hideous grin dis
torting his features, but had not ad
vanced two steps, when he started
backward with a moment of involun
tary horror.

"Look here you sir " he whisper
ed grasping Byrnewood by the arm
"Jist look here a minnit. You see the
floor at my left side do you ? Now
tell us the truth, aint there a dead man
lay in there ? His jaw broke and hig
tongue out ? Not that I m afeered,
but I wants to satisfy my mind. Jist
take a good look while I hold still "

"I see nothing but the carpet "
answered Byrnewood with a lock cf

100

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

loathing, as he observed this strange
being, standing before him, motionless
as a statute, while his left hand point
ed tc the floor "I see nothing but
the carpet."

" Don t see a dead man, with his
knees dravved up to his breast, and his
tongue stickin out ? Well that s
queer. I d take my book oath, that
the feller was a layin there, nasty as
a snake Hows ever re-fresh your
self young man. There s plenty to
eat and drink and " he pointed to
the hearth as he spoke " There s a
nice comfortable fire. Good charcoal
and I wonder s how that ill
work "

Closing the door, he stood in the
small recess, at the head of the stairs,
leading to the Tower-Room. The
huge forms of the negroes, Musquito
and Glow-worm, were flung along the
floor, while their hard breathing indi
cated that they slumbered on their
watch. Listening intently for a sin
gle moment, at the door of the Tower-
Room, Devil-Bug slowly turned the
key in the lock, and then withdrawing
it from the keyhole placed it in his
pocket. He stepped carefully over the
forms of the sleeping negroes, and
passed his hands slowly along the pa
nelling of the recess, opposite the door.

11 The spring ha, ha I ve found
it " he muttered in the darkness.
" The bookcases dont conceal no pas
sage between the walls of this ere
Tower, and the room itself do they ?
O course they do not. Quiet little
places where a feller can say his pray
ers and eat ground-nuts. Ha ! Ha !
Ha ! I must see how that ill work."

The pannelling slid back as he
touched the spring and Devil-Bug

disappeared into the secret
or passage, between the false book
cases and the massive walls of th
Tower; as the solitary chamber, ri
sing from the western wing of Monk-
Flail, was termed in the legends of the
place.

Meanwhile within the Tower- Room,
Byrnewood Arlington paced slowly up
and down the floor, his arms folded,
and his face, impressed with a fixed
expression, that forced his lips tightly
together, darkened his brows in a set
tled frown and drove the blood from
his entire visage, until it wore the livid
hues of death.

I " My sister in his power ! Last
night she was pure and stainless to
orrow morning dawns and she will be
thing stained with pollution, dishonor-
by a hideous crime ! No lapse of
time, no prayers to Heaven, no bitter
tears of repentance can ever wash out
the foul stains of her dishonor. And
I am a prisoner, while she shrieks for
help and shrieks in vain "

As Byrnewood spoke, striding ra-
pidly along the floor, a grateful warmth
began to steal around the room, dis
pelling the chill and damp, which
seemed to infect the very air, with an
unwholesome taint.

" And we have been children toge
ther ! I have held her in these arms,
when she was but a babe a smiling
babe, with golden hair and laughing
cheeks ! And then when she left home
for school, how it wrung my soul to
part with her! So young, so light-
hearted, so innocent ! Three years
pass she returns grown up into a
lovely girl whose pure soul, a very
devil would not dare to tarnish she

THE TOWER ROC

101

return to bless the sight of her father
her mother, with her laughing face and
giie i s dishonored ! I never knew
the meaning of the word till now
dishonored by a villian "

He flung himself on the sofa, and
covered his face with his hands.
T" And yet I, I, wronged an inno
cent girl, because she was my father s
servant ! Great God ! Can she,
have a brother to feel for her ruin ?
My punishment is just, but Mary
Oh ! whom did she ever harm, whom
could she ever wrong?"*!

He was silent again. And while
his brain was tortured by the fierce
struggles of thought, while the memo
ries of earlier days came thronging
over his soul the image of his sister,
present in every thought, and shining
brightest in each old-time memory
he could feel, the grateful heat which
pervaded the atmosphere of the room,
restoring warmth and comfort to his
limbs, while his blood flowed more
freely in his veins.

There was a long pause, in which
his very soul was absorbed in a deliri
um of thought. It may have been the
effect of internal agitation, or the re
sult of his half-crazed intellect acting
on his physical system, but after the
lapse of some few minutes, he was
aroused from his reverie, by a painful
throbbing around his temples, which
for a single moment destroyed all con
sciousness, and just as suddenly re
stored him to a keen and terrible sense
of his appaling situation. Now his
Drain seemed to swim in a wild deliri
um, and in a single instant as the
throbbing around his temples grew
more violent, his mental vision, seemed
clearer and more vigorous than ever.

"I cari -^dy brea r he! nt&gt; nk&gt;t j
tered, as he - ^ck on the sofa, after
a vain attempt se There is a
hand grasping me . ^e throat I
feel the fingers clutci. *he veins,
with the grasp of a dei. My

heart ah ! it is turning to ice to
ice and now it is fire ! My heart is
a ball of flame the blood boils in
my veins "

He sprung to his feet, with a wild
bound and his hands clutched madly
at his throat, as though he would free
the veins from the grasp of the invisi
ble fingers, which were pressing
through the very skin.

He staggered to and fro along the
floor, with his arms flung overhead, as
as if to ward off the attacks of some
invisible foe.

His face was ghastly pale, one mo
ment; the next it flushed with the
hues of a crimson flame. His large
black eyes dilated in their glance,
and stood out from the lids as though
they were about to fall from their sock
ets. His mouth distended with a con
vulsive grimace, while his teeth were
firmly clenched together. One in
stant his brain would be perfectly con
scious in all its operations, the next
his senses would swim in a fearful de
lirium.

"My God My God!" he shout-
ed in one of those momentary inter
vals of consciousness, as he staggered
wildly along the floor " I am dying
I am dying ! My breath comes
thick and gaspingly my veins are
chilled ha, ha they are turned to
fire again "

Even in his delirium he was consci
ous of a singular circumstance. A
portion of the pannelling of the false

1G2

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

bookcase") alor/g the . vrall opposite the
fire, receded suddenly, within the sash
of the central glass-door, leaving a
space of black and vacant darkness.
The aperture was in the top of the
bookcase, near the ceiling of the room.

Turning toward the hearth, Byrne-
wood endeavoured to regain the sofa,
but the room seemed swimming around
him, and with a wild movement, he
again staggered toward the bookcase
opposite the fire.

He started backward as a new hor
ror met his gaze.

A hideous face glared upon him,
from the aperture of the book-case,
like some picture of a fiend s visage,
suddenly thrust against the glass-door
of the book-case.

A hideous face, with a single burn
ing eye, with a wide mouth distending
in a loathsome grin, with long rows
of fang-like teeth, and a protuberent
brow, overhung by thick masses of
matted hair. This face alone was
visible, surrounded by the darkness
which marked the square outline of
the aperture. It was, indeed, like a
hideous picture framed in ebony, al
though you could see the muscles of
the face in motion, while the flat nose
was pressed against the glass of the
book-case, and the thick lips were now
tightly closed, and again distending in
hideous grin.

" Ho ! ho ! ho !" a laugh like the
shout of a devil, came echoing through
the glass, faint and subdued, yet wild
and terrible to hear " The charcoal
the charcoal ! Wonder how ihatfill
work /"

Byrne wood stood silent and erect,
while the throbbing of his temples, the

gasping of his breath, and the deaden
ing sensation around his heart, sub
sided for a single moment.

The full horror of his situation
rushed upon him. He way dying by
the gas escaping from charcoal, in a
room, rendered impervious to the air ;
closed and sealed for the purpose of
this horrible death.

A brilliant idea flashed across his
brain.

"I will overturn the furnace "
he muttered, rushing toward the hearth
" I will extinguish the flame !"

With a sudden bound he sprang
forward, but in the very action, fell to
the floor, like a drunken man.

His breath came in thick convul
sive gasps, his heart grew like a masa
of fire, while his brain was tortured by
one intense and agonizing throb of
pain, as though some invisible hand
had wound a red hot wire round his
forehead. He lay on the floor, with
iiis outspread hands grasping the air
n the effort to rise.

" It works, it works !" shouted the
voice of Devil-Bug, as his loathsome
ountenance was pressed against the
glass-door of the book-case " Ha !
la ! ha ! He is on the floor he
cannot rise he is in the clutch of
death. How the poor feller kicks pnd
scuffles !"

A wild, wild shriek echoing from a
distant room came faintly to Byrne-
wood s ear. That sound of a woman s
voice, shrieking for help, in an em-
)hasis of despair, aroused the dying
man from the spell which began to
deaden his senses.

"It is my sister s voice!" he ex
claimed, springing to his feet with n

THE TOWER ROOM.

lift

.asl effort of strength " She is in the
hands of the villain ! I will save her
I will save her "

" The sister outraged ! The bro
ther murdered !" shouted Devil-Bug,
through the glass-door " I wonder
how that ill work!"

Byrnewood rushed towards the
door ; it was locked and secured. All
hope was in vain. He must die. Die,
while his sister s shriek for aid rang
on his ears, die, with the loathsome
face of his murderer pressed against
the glass, while his blazing eye feasted
on his last convulsive agonies, die,
with youth on his brow, with health
in his heart ! Die, with all purposed
vengeance on his sister s wronger un
fulfilled ; die, by no sudden blow, by
no dagger thrust, by no pistol shot,
but by the most loathsome of all
deaths, by suffocation.

"Ha! ha!" the thought flashed
over his brain " The hangman s
rope were a priceless luxury to me in
this dread hour !"

Staggering slowly along the floor,
with footsteps as heavy as thdugh he
nad leaden weights attached to his
feet, he approached the chest-like ta
ble, and with a faint effort to recover
his balance, sunk down on the floor,
in a crouching position, while his out
spread hands clutched faintly at the
air.

In a moment he rolled slowly from
side to side, and lay on his back with
nis face to the ceiling, and his arms
extended on either side. His eyes
were suddenly covered with a glassy
film, his lower jaw separated from the
upper, leaving his mouth wide open,
while the room grew warmer, the air
more dense and suffocating.

" Help help !" murmurod Byrne-
wood, in a smothered voice, like the
sound produced by a man throttled by
nightmare " Help ! help !"

" By-a-baby, go to sleep that s
a good feller " the voice of Devil-
Bug came like a faint echo through
the glass " A drop from the bottle
ud do you good, and jist reach
your right hand a leetle bit further !
There ain t no spring there, I sup-pose!
Ain t there ? Ho-ho-ho !"

And Byrnewood could feel a deli
cious languor stealing over his frame,
as he lay there on the floor, helpless
and motionless, while the voice of
Devil-Bug rang in his ears. The
throbbing of his temples had subsided,
he no more experienced the quick
gasping struggle for breath, his hear*
no more passed through the quick
transitions from cold to heat, from ice
to fire, his veins no more felt like
streams of molten lead. He was sink
ing quietly in a soft and pleasing
slumber. The film grew more glassy
in each eye, his jaws hung further
apart, and the heaving of his chest
subsided, until a faint and tremulous
motion, was the only indication that
life had not yet fled from his frame.
His outspread arms seemed to grow
stiffened and dead as he rested on the
floor, while the joints of the fingers
moved faintly to and fro, with a flut-
tering motion, that afforded a strange
contrast to the complete repose of his
body and limbs. His feet were pointed
upward, like the feet of a corpse, ar
rayed for burial.

The dim light burning on the chest-
like table, afforded a faint light to the
ghastly scene. There were the un
touched refreshments, the cold chicken

104

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

and the bottle of wine, giving the
place the air of a quiet supper-room,
there were the false book-cases, indicat
ing a resort for meditation and study,
there was the cheerful furnace, its
glowing flame flashing through the
half-closed doors, speaking a pleasant
tale of fireside joys and comforts, and
there, along the carpet, stiffening and
ghastly lay the form of Byrnewood
Arlington, slowly and quietly yielding
to the slumber of death, while a
hideous face peered through the glass-
door, all distorted by a sickening
grimace, and a solitary eye, that
gleamed like t live coal, drank in the
tremulous agonies of the dying man.

" Reach his hand a leetle bit further
that s a good feller. Won t have
no tumble down three stories, nor
nothin , if his lingers touch the spring?
Ho-ho ! Quiet now, I guess. list
look how his fingers tremble He !
he! he! Hallo! He s on his feet
agin !"

With the last involutary struggle
of a strong man wrestling for his life,
Byrnewood Arlington sprang to his
feet, and reaching forth his hand with
the same mechanical impulse that had
raised him from the floor, he seized the
bottle of wine ; he raised it to his lips,
and the wine poured gurgling down
his throat.

" Hain t got no opium in, I sup
pose 1 Not the least mossel. Cuss it,
how he staggers ! Believe my soul
he s comin to life agin "

Byrnewood glanced around with a
look of momentary consciousness.
The drugged wine, for a single mo
ment, created a violent re-action in
his system, and he became fully sen-
fible of the awful death that awaited

him. He could feel the hot air, warm
ing his cheek, he could see the visage
of Devil-Bug peering at him thro the
glass-door, and the danger which me
naced his sister, came home like some
horrible phantom to his soul. He felt
in his very soul that but a single mo
ment more of consciousness, would be
permitted him, for action. That mo
ment past, and the death by charcoal,
would be quietly and surely accom
plished.

" Keep me, oh Heaven !" he whis
pered as his mind ran over various ex-
pedients for escape " Aid me, in this,
my last effort, that I may live to
avenge my sister s dishonor !"

It was his design to make one sudden
and desperate spring toward the glass-
door, through which the hideous vi-
sage of Devil-Bug, glared in his face
and as he madly dashed his hands
through the glass, the room would be
filled with a current of fresh air.

This was his resolve, but it came
too late. As he turned, to make this
desperate spring, his heel pressed
against an object, rising from the floor,
near a corner of the chest-like table.
It was but a small object, resembling
a nail or spike, which has not been
driven to the head, in the planking of
a floor, but suffered to remain half-ex
posed and open to the view.

And yet the very moment Byrne-
wood s heel, pressed against the trifling
object, the floor on which he stood gave
way beneath him, with a low rustling
sound,half of the Chamber was changed
into one black and yawning chasm,
and the lamp standing on the table sud
denly disappeared, leaving the place
wrapt in thick darkness.

Another moment passed, and while

THE TOWER ROOM.

105

Bymewood reeled in the darkness, on
the veige of the sunken trap-door, a
hushed and distant sound, echoed far
below as from the depths of some
deep and dismal well. The lamp had
fallen in the chasm, and the faint sound
heard far, far below was the only in
dication that it had reached the bottom
of the gloomy void, sinking down
like a well into the cellars of Monk-
hall.

Byrnewood tottered on the verge of
the chasm, while a current of cold air
came sweeping upward from its depths.
The foul atmosphere of the Tower
Room, lost half its deadly qualities,
in a single moment, as the cool air,
came rushing from the chasm.

Byrnewood felt the effects of the
charcoal rapidly passing from his sys
tem, and his mind regained its full
consciousness as his hot brow, receiv
ed the freshning blast of winter air,
pouring over the parched and heated
skin. ,

But the current of pure air, came
too late for his salvation. Tottering
in the darkness on the very verge of
the sunken trap-door, he made one des
perate struggle to preserve his balance,
but in vain. For a moment his form
swung to and fro, and then his feet
slid from under him ; and then with
a maddening shriek, he fell.

" God save poor Mary !"

How that last cry of the doomed
man shrieked around the panelled
walls of the Tower Room !

" Wonder how that ill work /" the
hoarse voice of Devil-Bug, shrieked
through the darkness "Down
down down / Ah-ha ! Three
stones down down down ! [
wonders how that ill work !"

Separated from the Tower Room by
the glass-door, Devil-Bug pressed hia
ear against the glass, and listened for
the death-groans of the doomed man.

A low moaning sound, like the
groan of a man, who trembles under
the operations of a surgeon s knife,
came faintly to his ear. In a moment,
Devil-Bug, thought he heard a sound
ike a door suddenly opened, and then,
the murmur of voices, whispering
some quick and hurried words, re
sounded along the Tower Room.
Then there was a subdued noise,
like a man struggling on the brink
of the chasm, and then a hushad
sound, that might have been taken
for the tread ol a footstep mingled
with the closing of a door, came faint
ly through the glass of the book-case.

Gliding silently from the secret re-
ess, behind the panelling of the
Tower Room, Devil-Bug stepped over
the forms of the slumbering negroes
and descended the stairway leading to
the Walnut Room. The scene of the
wedding was wrapt in midnight dark
ness. Passing softly along the floor,
Devil-Bug, reached the entrance to the
Rose Chamber, and flung the hang
ings aside, with a cautious movement
of his talon-like fingers.

" I merely wanted a light " ex
claimed Devil-Bug, as he stood gazing
into the Rose Chamber " But here s
a candle, and a purty sight into the
bargain !"

He disappeared through the door
way, and after the lapse of a few mo
ments, again emerged into the Walnut
Room, holding a lighted candle in his
hand.

" Amazin circumstance, that "
he chuckled, as he strode across the

106

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER

glittering floor " The brother fell in
that are room, and the sister fell in
that ; about the same time. They fell
in different ways though. Strange
world, this. Let s see what become
of the brother Charcoal and opium
-ho! ho! ho!"

Before another moment had elapsed,
he stood before the door of Tower
Room. Musquito and Glow-worm
still slumbered on their watch, their
huge forms and hideous faces, dimly
developed in the beams of the light,
which the Doorkeeper carried in his
hand. Devil-Bug listened intently for
a single moment, but not the slightest
sound disturbed the silence of the
Tower room.

He opened the door, he strode along
the carpet, he stood on the verge of
the chasm, produced by the falling of
the death-trap.

" Down down ! Three stories,
and the pit below ! Ha ! Let me
hold the light, a leetle nearer ! Every
trap-door is open he is safe enough !
Think I see suffin white a-flutterin
a-way down there! Hollered pretty
loud as he fell devilish ugly tumble!
Guess it ill work quite nice for Lor-
rimer !"

Stooping on his knees with the light
extended in his right hand, he again
gazed down the hatchway, his solitary
eye flashing with excitement, as he
endeavoured to pierce the gloom of
the dark void beneath.

" He s gone to see his friends be
low! Sartin sure! No sound no
groan not even a holler !"

Arising from his kneeling position,
Devil -Bug approached the recess of
.he fire-place. On either side, a plain

panell of oak, concealed the score*
nook behind the false book-case.
Placing his hand cautiously along the
panell to the right, Devil-Bug examin
ed the details of the carving in each
corner, and along its side, with a care
ful eye.

"Hasn t been opened to-night "
he murmured u Leads to the Wal
nut Room, by a round-a-bout way.
Convenient little passage, if that fool
had only knowed on it !"

In an instant he stood outside of the
Tower Room door, holding the key in
one hand, and the candlestick in the
other.

"Git up you lazy d 1 s !" he
shouted, bestowing a few pointed
kicks upon the carcases of the sleep
ing negroes " Git up and mind your
eyes, or else I ll pick em out o your
head to play marbles with "

Glow-worm arose slowly from the
floor, and Musquito, opening his eyes
with a sleepy yawn, stared vacantly
in the Doorkeeper s face.

" D ye hear me ? Watch this fel
ler and see that he don t escape?
He s a sleepin now, but there s no
knowin Watch ! I say watch !

He shuffled slowly along the nar
row passage, looking over his shoulder
at the grinning negroes, as he passed
along, while his face wore its usual
pleasant smile, as he again muttered
in his hoarse tones " Watch him ye
dogs I say watch him !"

Another moment, and he stood be
fore the entrance of the Rose Cham
ber, holding the curtaining aside,
while his eye blazed up with an ex
pression of malignant joy. He raised
the light on high, and stood gazing
silently through the doorway, as

THE CRIME WITHOUT A NAME.

though his e yes beheld a spectacle of
strange and peculiar interest.

And while he stood there, chuckling
pleasantly to himself, with the full
light of the candle, flashing over his
loathsome face, two figures, stood
crouching in the darkness, along the
opposite side of the room, and the
eastern door hung slightly ajar, as
though they had entered the place but
a moment before.

P" Once or twice Devil-Bug turned, as
though the sound of suppressed breath
ing struck his ear, but every time, the
shadow of the candle fell along the op
posite side of the room, and the crouch
ing figures were concealed from view.

" Quite a pictur " chuckled
Devil-Bug as he again gazed through
the doorway of the Rose Chamber
"A nice little gal and a handsome
feller! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

He disappeared through the cur
taining, while his pleasant chuckle
came echoing through the doorway,
with a sound of continued glee, as
though the gentleman was highly
amused by the spectacle that broke on
his gaze.

The silence of the Rose Chamber
was broken by the tread of a footstep
and the figure of a man, came steal
ing through the darkness, with the
form of a queenly woman by his side.

" Advance and save your sister s
honor " the deep-toned whisper
broke thrillingly on the air.

The man advanced with a hurried
step, flung the curtain hastily aside,
and gazed within the Rose Chamber.

The horror of that silent gaze,
would be ill-repayed by aa Eternity
of joy.

CHAPTER THIRTEENTH.

THE CRIME WITHOUT A NAME.

" My brother consents 1 Oh joy,
Lorraine he consents ! "

" Your brother consents to our wed-
ding, my love "

" How did he first discover, that the
wedding was to take place to night?"

" It seems that for several days, he
has noticed you walking out with Bess*
You see, Mary, this excited his sus
picions. He watched you with all a
brother s care, and to night, tracked
Bess and you, to the doors of this
mansion. He was not certain how
ever, that it was you, whom he seen,
enter my uncle s house "

"And so he watched all night around
the building ] Oh Lorraine, he is a
noble brother !"

" At last, grown feverish with hia
suspicions, he rung the bell, aroused
the servant, and when the door was
opened, rushed madly up stairs, and
reached the Wedding Room. You
know the rest. After the matter was
explained to him, he consented to keep
our marriage secret until Christmas
Eve. He has left the house, satisfied
that you are in the care of those who
love you. To morrow, Mary, when
you have recovered from the effects
of the surprise, which your brother s
sudden entrance occasioned to-mor
row we will be married ! "

" And on Christmas Eve, hand link
ed in hand, we will kneel before our
father, and ask his blessing "

"One kiss, Mary love, one kiss,
and I will leave you for the night "

And leaning fondly over the fair
girl, who was seated on the sofa, her

108

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER

form enveloped in a flowing night-robe,
Lorrimer wound h s right arm gently
around her neck, bending her head
slowly backward in the action, and
suffering her rich curls to fall show
ering on her shoulders, while her up
turned face, all radiant with affection
lay open to his burning gaze, and her
ripe lips, dropped slightly apart, dis
closing the ivory teeth, seemed to woo
and invite the pressure of his kiss.

One kiss, silent and long, and the
Lover and the fair girl, seemed to have
grown to each others lips.

The wax-light standing on the
small table of the Rose Chamber, fell
mild and dimly over this living picture
of youth and passion.

The tall form of Lorrimer, clad in
solemn black, contrasting forcibly
with the snow-white robes of the Maid
en, his arm flung gently around her
neck, her upturned face half-hidden by
the falling locks of his dark brown
hair, their lips joined and their eyes
mingling in the same deep glance of
passion, while her bosom rose heaving
against his breast, and her arms hal f-
upraised seemed about to entwine his
form in their embrace it was a mo
ment of pure and hallowed love on the
part of the fair girl, and even the li
bertine, for an instant forgot the vile-
ness of his purpose, in that long and
silent kiss of stainless passion.

" Mary !" cried Lorrimer, his hand
some face flushing over with transport,
us silently gliding from his standing
position, he assumed his seat at her
side "Oh! would that you were
mine ! We would flee U gether from

the heartless world in some silent
and shadowy valley, we would ibrget
all, but the love which made us one.

" We would seek a home, quiet and
peaceful, as that which this book de
scribes " whispered Mary laying
her hand on Bulwer s play of Claude /
Mellnotte "I found the volume
on the table, and was reading it, when
you came in* Oh, it is all beauty and
feeling. You have read it Lorraine ?"

" Again and again and have seen it
played a hundred times. The home,
to which love could fulfil its prayerSj
this hand would lead thee " he
murmured repeating the first lines of
the celebrated description of the Lake
of Como "And yet Mary this is
mere romance. A creation of the
poets brain. A fiction as beautiful as
a ray of light ; and as fleeting. I
I might tell you a story of a real
valley and a real lake, which I be
held last summer where love might
dwell forever, and dwell in eternal
youth and freshness. "

"Oh tell me tell me "cried
Mary, gazing in his face with a look
of interest.

" Beyond the fair valley of Wy
oming, of which so much lias been
said and sung, there is a high and ex
tensive range of mountains, covered
with thick and gloomy forests. One
day tast September when the summer
was yet in its freshness and bloom,
toward the hour of sunset, I found
myself wandering through a thick
wood, that covered the summit of one
of the highest of these mountains. I
had been engaged in a deer-hunt all
day had strayed from my com
rades and now as night was coming

THE CRIME WITHOUT A NAME.

109

on, was wandering, along a wind
ing path, that led to the top of the
mountain "

Lorrimer paused for a single instant,
and gazed intently in Mary s face.
Every feature was animated with sud
den interest and a warm flush, hung
freshly on each cheek.

And as Lorrimer gazed upon the
animated face of the innocent girl,
marking its rounded outlines, its hues
of youth and loveliness, its large blue
eyes beaming so gladly upon his
countenance, the settled purpose of his
soul, came home to him, like a sudden
shadow darkening over a landscape,
after a single gleam of sunlight.

It was the purpose of this libertine
to dishonor the stainless girl, before he
left her presence.

Before day break she would be a pollu
ted thing, whose name and virtue and
soul, would be blasted forever, j

In that silent gaze, which drank in the
beauty of the maiden s face, Lorrimer
arranged his plan of action. The book
which he had left upon the table, the sto
ry which he was about to tell, were the
ifirst intimations of his atrocious design.
While enchaining the mind of the
Maiden, with a story full of Romance,
it was his intention to wake her ani
mal nature into full action^ And when
her veins were all alive with fiery pul
sations, when her heart grew animate
with sensual life, when her eyes swam
in the humid moisture of passion,
then she would sink helplessly into his
arms, and like the bird to the snake,
flutter To her ruin.

" Force violence ! These are
but the tools of grown-up children,
who know nothing of the mystery of
woman s heart " the thought flash

ed over Lorrimer s brain, as hjs lip,
wore a very slight but weaning smile

"I have deeper means, than these !
I employ neither force, nor threats,
nor fraud, nor violence ! My victim
is the instrument of her own ruin
without one rude grasp from my hand,
without one threatning word, she swims
willingly to my arms !"

He took the hand of the fair girl
within his own, and looking her stea
dily in the eye, with a deep gaze
which every instant grew more vivid
and burning, he went on with his story

and his design.

" The wood grew very dark. A-
round me, were massive trees with
thick branches, and gnarled trunks,
bearing witness of the storms of an
hundred years. My way led over a
path covered with soft forest-moss,
and now and then, red gleams of sun
light shot like arrows of gold, between
the overhanging leaves. Darker and
darker, the twilight sank down upon
the forest. At last missing the path,
I knew not which way to tread. All
was dark and indistinct. Now fall
ing over a crumbling limb, which had
been thrown down by a storm long be
fore, now entangled by the wild vines,
that overspread portions of the ground,
and now missing my foothold in some
hidden crevice of the earth, I wander
ed wearily on. At last climbing up a
sudden elevation of the mountain, I
stood upon a vast rock, that hung over
the depths below, like an immense
platform. On all sides, but one, this
rock was encircled by a waving wall
of forest-leaves. Green shrubs swept
circling around, enclosing it like a
fairy bower, while the eastern side,
lay open to the beams of the moon.

110

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

jvhich now rose grandly in the vas
horizon. Far over wood, far over
mountain, far over ravine and dell
this platform-rock, commanded a dis
tant view of the valley of Wyoming
" The moon was in the sky, Mary;
the sky was one vast sheet of blue,
undimmed by a single cloud ; and be
neath the moonbeams lay a sea of fo
rest-leaves, while in the dim distance

like the shore of this leafy ocean

arose the roofs and steeples of a
quiet town, with a broad river, rolling
along the dark valley, like a banner of
silver, flung over a sable-pall "

" How beautiful !"

And as the murmur escaped Mary s
lips, the hand of Lorrimer grew closer
in its pressure, while his left arm,
wound gently around her waist.

" I stood entranced by the sight. A
cool breeze came up the mountain side,
imparting a grateful freshness to my
cheek. The view was indeed beau
tiful, but I suddenly remembered that
I was without resting-place or shelter.
Ignorant of the mountain paths, afar
from any farm-house or village, I had
still a faint of hope, of discovering the
the temporary habitation of some hun
ter, who had encamped in these forest-
wilds.

" I turned from the magnificent
prospect I brushed aside the wall of
leaves, I looked to the western sky.
I shall never forget the view which
like a dream of fairy -land burst on
my sight, as pushing the shrubbery
aside, I gazed from the western limits
of the platform-rock.

" There, below me, imbedded in the
very summit of the mountain, lay a
calm lake, whose crystal- waters, gave
back the reflection of forest and sky,

like an immense mirror. It was but
a mile in length, and half that distance
in width. On all sides, sudden and
steep, arose the encircling wall of fo
rest trees. Like wine in a goblet, that
calm sheet of water, lay in the em
brace of the surrounding wall of fo
liage. The waters were clear, so
tranquil, that I could see, down, down,
far, far beneath, as if another world,
was hidden in their depths. And then
from the heights, the luxuriant foliage,
as yet untouched by autumn, sank in
waves of verdure to the very brink of
the lake, the trembling leaves, dipping
in the clear, cold waters, with a gen
tle motion. It was very beautifuJ
Mary and "

"Oh, most beautiful!"

The left hand of Lorrimer, gently
stealing round her form, rested with a
faint pressure upon the folds of the
night-robe, over her bosom, which now
came heaving tremulously into light.

" I looked upon this lovely lake
with a keen delight I gazed upon the
tranquil waters, upon the steeps
crowned with forest-trees one side
in heavy shadow, the other, gleaming
n the advancing moonbeams I
seemed to inhale the quietness, the so
litude of the place, as a holy influence,
mingling with the very air, I breathed,
and a wild transport aroused my soul
nto an outburst of enthusiasm.

" Here I cried is the home for
Love ! Love, pure and stainless, fly-
ng from the crowded city, here can
repose, beneath the shadow of quiet
rocks, beside the gleam of tranquil
waters, within the solitudes of endless
brests. Yon sky, so clear, so cloud-*
ess, has never beheld a sight of hu
man misery or wo. Yon lake,

THE CRIME WITHOUT A NAME.

Ill

ing beneath me, like another sky, has
never been crimsoned by human blood.
This quiet valley, hidden from the
world now, as it has been hidden since
the creation, is but another world
where two hearts that love, that mingle
in one, that throb but for each other s
joy, can dwell forever, in the calm si
lence of unalloyed affection "

" A home for love such as angels
feel"

Closer and more close, the hand of
Lorrimer pressed against the heaving
bosom, with but the slight folds of the
night-robe between.

" Here, beside this calm lake, when
ever the love of a true woman shall
be mine, here, afar from the cares and
realities of life, will I dwell ! Here,
with the means which the accident of
.ortune has bestowed, will I build, not
a temple, not a mansion, not a palace!
But a cottage, a quiet home, whose
roof shall arise like a dear hope in
the wilderness from amid the green
leaves of embowering trees "

" You spoke thus, Lorraine ? Do
I not love you as a true woman should
love? Is not your love calm and
stainless as the waters of the mountain
lake? We will dwell there, Lor-
-^raine ! Oh, how like romance will be
the plain reality of our life !"

" Oh ! Mary, my own true love, in
that moment as I stood gazing upon
the world-hidden lake, my heart all
throbbing with strange impulses, my
very soul steeped in a holy calm,
your form seemed to glide between my
eyes and the moonlight ! The thought
rushed like a prophecy over my soul,
*hat one day, amid the barren wilder
ness of hearts, which crowd the world,
! should fine one, one heart, whose
8

I impulses should be stainless, whose ai-

j fection should be undying, whose love

j should be mine \ Oh, Mary, in that

moment, I felt that my life would, one

day, be illumined by your love "

" And then you knew me not ? Oh,
] Lorraine, is there not a strange mys
tery in this affection, which makes the
heart long for the love, which it shall
one day experience, even before the
eye has seen the beloved one?"

Brighter grew the glow on her
cheek, closer pressed the hand on hei
bosom, warmer and higher arose that
bosom in the light.

"And there, Mary, in that quiet
mountain valley, we will seek a home,
when we are married. As soon as
summer comes, when the trees are
green, and the flowers burst from
among the moss along the wood-path,
we will hasten to the mountain lake,
and dwell within the walls of our
quiet home. For a home shall be
reared for us, Mary, on a green glade
that slopes down to the water s brink,
with the tall trees sweeping away on
either side.

" A quiet little cottage, Mary, with
a sloping roof and small windows, all
fragrant with wild flowers and forest
vines! A garden before the door,
Mary, where, in the calm summer
morning, you can inhale the sweetness
of the flowers, as they breath forth in
untamed luxuriance. And then, an*
chored by the shore, Mary, a light
sail-boat will be ready for us ever ; to
bear us over the clear lake in the
early dawn, when the mist winds
up in fleecy columns to the sky, 01
in the twilight, when the red scm
flings his last -ay over the waters,
or in the silent night, when the moon

112

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

is up, and the stars look kindly on us
from the cloudless sky "

** Alas ! Lorraine ! Clouds may
come and storms, and winter "

" What care we for winter, when
eternal spring is in our hearts ! Let
winter come with its chill, and its ice
and its snows ! Beside our cheerful
fire, Mary, with our hands clasping
some book, whose theme is the trials
of two hearts that loved on through
difficulty and danger or death, we will
sit silently, our hearts throbbing with
one delight, while the long hours
of the winter evening glide quietly
on. Do you see the fire, Mary?
How cheerily its beams light our
faces as we sit in its kindly light !
My arm is round your waist, Mary,
my cheek is laid next to yours, our
hands are locked together and your
heart, Mary, oh how softly its throb-
bings fall on my ear !"

" Oh, Lorraine ! Why is there any
care in the world, when two hearts
can make such a heaven on earth,
with the holy lessons of an all -trust
ing love "

" Or it may be, Mary " and his
gaze grew deeper, while his voice
sank to a low and thrilling whisper
" Or it may be, Mary, that while we
sit beside our winter fire a fair babe
do not blush, my wife a fair babe
will rest smiling on your bosom "

" Oh, Lorraine " she murmured,
and hid her face upon his breast, her
long brown tresses, covering her neck
and shoulders like a veil, while Lor
raine wound his arms closely round
her form, and looked around with a
glance full of meaning.

There was triumph in that glance.
The libertine felt her heart throbbing

against his breast as he held her in hi*
arms, he felt her bosom panting and
heaving, and quivering with a quick
fluttering pulsation and as he swept
the clustering curls aside from her
half-hidden face, he saw that her cheek
glowed like a new-lighted flame.

" She is mine !" he thought, and a
smile of triumph gave a dark aspect
to his handsome face.

In a moment Mary raised her glow
ing countenance from his breast. She
gazed around, with a timid, frightened
look. Her breath came thick and
gaspingly. Her cheeks were all
a-glow, her blue eyes swam in a hazy
dimness. She felt as though she was
about to fall swooning on the floor.
For a moment all consciousness
seemed to have failed her, while a de
lirious langor came stealing over her
senses. Lorrimer s form seemed to
swim in the air before her, and the
dim light of the room gave place to a
flood of radiance, which seemed all at
once to pour on her eyesight from
some invisible source. Soft murmurs,
like voices heard in a pleasant dream,
fell gently on her ears, the langor
came deeper and more mellow over
her limbs ; her bosom rose no longer
quick and gaspingly, but in long pul
sations, that urged the full globes in
all their virgin beauty, softly and
slowly into view. Like billows they
rose above the folds of the night robe,
while the flush grew" warmer on her
cheek, and her parted lips deepened
into a rich vermillion tint.

" She is mine !" and the same dark
smile flushed over Lorrimer s face.
Silent and motionless he sat, regard
ing his victim with a steadfast glance.

" Oh, Lorraine " she cried, in a

THE CRIME WITHOUT A NAME.

113

gasping voice, as she felt a strange
unconsciousness stealing over her
senses " Oh, Lorraine save me

save me !"

She arose, tottering on her feet,
flinging her hands aloft, as though
she stood on the brink of some fright
ful steep, without the power to retreat
from its crumbling edge.

" There is no danger for you, my
Mary " whispered Lorrimer, as he
received her falling form in his out
spread arms " There is no danger
for you, my Mary "

He played with the glossy curls of
her dark brown hair as he spoke,
while his arms gathered her half-
swooning form full against his heart.

"She is mine! Hex blood is
a-flame her senses swim in a deli
rium of passion ! (While the story fell
from my lips, I aroused her slumber
ing woman s nature, j Talk of force

ha, ha She rests on my bosom
as though she would grow there "

As these thoughts half escaped
from his lips, in a muttered whisper,
his face shone with the glow of sen
sual passion, while his hazel eye di
lated, with a glance, whose intense
lustre had but one meaning ; dark and
atrocious.

She lay on his breast, her senses
wrapt in a feverish swoon, that laid her
powerless in his arms, while it left her
mind vividly sensible of the approacb-
ing danger.

" Mary, my love no danger
threatens you " he whispered play
ing with her glossy curls " Look
up, my love 7am with you, and
will shield you from harm !"

Gathering her form in his left arm,
secure of his victim, he raised her

from his breast, and fixing his gaze
upon her blue eyes, humid with mois
ture, he slowly flung back the night
robe from her shoulders. Her bosom,
in all its richness of outline, heaving
and throbbing with that long pulsation,
which urged it upward like a billow,
lay open to his gaze.

And at the very moment, that ner
fair breast was thrown open to his sen
sual gaze, she sprang from his em
brace, with a wild shriek, and instinc
tively gathered her robe over her
bosom, with a trembling movement
of her fair white hands. The touch
of the seducer s hand, polluting her
stainless bosom, had restored her to
sudden consciousness.

" Lorraine ! Lorraine !" she shriek
ed, retreating to the farthest corner of
the room " Oh, save me save
me"

" No danger threatens you, my
Mary"

He advanced, as he spoke, toward*
the trembling girl, who had shrunk
into a corner of the room, crouching
closely to the rose-hued hangings,
while with her head turned over her
shoulder and her hands clasped across
her bosom, she gazed around with a
glance full of terror and alarm.

Lorrimer advanced toward the
crouching girl. He had been sure
of his victim ; he did not dream of
any sudden outburst of terror from
the half swooning maiden as she lay,
helpless on his breast. As he ad
vanced, a change came over his ap
pearance. His face grew purple, and
the veins of his eyes filled with .hick
red blood. He trembled as he walked
across the floor, and his chest heaved

114

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

and throbbed beneath his white vest,
as though he found it difficult to
breathe.

God save poor Mary, now !

Looking over her shoulder, she
caught a gleam of his blood-shot eyei
and read her ruin there.

" Mary, there is no danger " he
muttered, in a husky voice, as she
shrunk back from his touch " Let
me raise you from the floor "

" Save me, oh Lorraine Save
me !" she cried, in a voice of terror,
crouching closer to the hangings along
the wall.

" From what shall I save you ?"
lie whispered, in a voice unnaturally
soft and gentle, as though he en
deavoured to hide tne rising anger
which began to gleam from his eye,
when he found himself foiled in
tne very moment of triumph "From
what shall I save you "

" From yourself " she shrieked,
m a frightened tone " Oh, Lorraine,
you love me. You will not harm me.
Oh, save me, save me from yourself!"

Playing with the animal nature of
the stainless girl, Lorrimer had arous
ed the sensual volcano of his own base
heart. While he pressed her hand,
while he gazed in her eyes, while he
wound his embrace around her form,
he had anticipated a certain and grate
ful conquest. He had not dreamed
that the humid eye, the heaving bosom,
the burning cheek of Mary Arlington,
were aught but the signs of his corning
triumph. Resistance? Prayers? Tears?
He had not anticipated these. The
fiend was up in his soul. The liber
tine had gone too far to recede.

He stood before the crouching girl,
I fearful picture of incarnate

Sudden as the shadow after the light
this change had passed over his soul.
His form arose towering and erect, his
chest throbbed with sensual excite
ment, his hands hung, madly clinched,
by his side, while his curling hair fell
wild and disordered over his brows, f ,
darkening in a hideous frown, and hi&lt;
mustachioed lip wore the expression
of his fixed and unalterable purpose.
His blood-shot eyes, flashed with the
unholy light of passion, as he stood
sternly surveying the form of his
victim. There was something wild
and brutal in their savage glare.

"This is all folly "he said, in
that low toned and husky voice
"Rise from the flocr, Mary. You
don t .hink Pd harm you T

He stooped to raise her from th*
floor, but she shrank from his extend
ed hands as though there was pollu
tion in his slightest touch.

" Mary, I wish you to rise from the
floor !"

His clenched hands trembled as ho
spoke, and the flush of mingled anger
and sensual feeling, deepened over his
face.

" Oh, Lorraine !" she cried, fling
ing herself on her knees before him
" Oh, Lorraine you will not harm
me ? This is not you, Lorraine ; it can
riot be you. You would not look
darkly on me, your voice would not
grow harsh as it whispered my name
It is not Lorraine that I see it
is an evil spirit "

It was an evil spirit, she said, and
yet looked up into his blood-shot eyes
for a gleam of mercy as she spoke,
and with her trembling fingers, wrung
his clinched right hand, and clasped
it wildly to her bosom.

THE CRIME WITHOUT A NAME.

115

Pure, stainless, innocent, her hear
a heaven of love, her mind child-like
m its knowledge of the World, sh&lt;
knew not what she feared. She die

not fear the shame which the

good

world would heap upon her, she die
not fear the Dishonor, because it woulc
be followed by such pollution that, no
man in honor might call her Wife
no child in innocence might whisper
her name as Mother she did not
fear the foul Wrong, as society with
its million tongues and eyes, fears it,
and holds it in abhorence, ever visiting
the guilt of the man upon the head
of his trembling victim.

Mary feared the Dishonor, because
her soul, with some strange conscious
ness of approaching evil, deemed it,
a foul Spirit, who had arisen, not
much to visit her with wrong as to
destroy the Love, she felt for Lorrimer.
Not for herself, but for his sake, she
feared that nameless crime, which al
ready glared upon her from the blood
shot eyes of her Lover. Her Lover !

" Oh, Lorraine, you will not harm
me ! For the sake of God, save me
save me !"

She clasped his hand with a closer
grasp and gathered it tremblingly to
her bosom, while her eyes dilating
with a glance of terror, were fixed
upon his face.

"Mary this is madness no
thing but madness " he said in that
voice, grown hoarse with passion, and
rudely tore his hand from her grasp.

Another instant, and stooping sud
denly, he caught her form in his arms,
and raised her struggling from her
very feet.

" Mary you are mine !" he
hissed the whisper in her ear, and ga

thered her quivering form more close
ly to his heart.

There was a low-toned and hideous
laugh, muttering or growling through
the air as he spoke, and the form of
Devil-Bug, stole with a hushed foot
step from the entrance of the Walnut
Chamber, and seizing the light in his
talon-fingers, glided from the room,
with the same hyena laugh which had
announced his appearance.

" The trap the bottle the fire,
for the brother " he muttered as
his solitary eye, glanced upon the Li
bertine and his struggling victim,
neither of whom had marked his
ntrance "For the Sister ha!
a ! ha ! The handsome Devil -Bug
Monk Gusty tends to her!
Bijah did nt listen for nothin ha,
ha ! this beats the charcoal, quite hol-
ow !"

He disappeared, and the Rose Cham
ber was wrapt in midnight darkness.

Darkness ! There was a struggle,
and a shriek and a prayer. Dark
ness ! There was an oath and a groan,
mingling in chorus. Darkness ! A
wild cry for mercy, a name madly
hrieked, and a fierce execration.
)arkness ! Another struggle, a low
noaning sound, and a stillness like
bat of the grave. Now darkness and
ilence mingle together and all is still.

In some old book of mysticism and

uperstition, I have read this wild

egend, which mingling as it does the

rrible with the grotesque, has still its

meaning and its moral.

In the sky, far, far above the earth
so the legend runs there hangs
n Awful Bell, invisible to mortal eye.

116

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

which angel hands alone may toll,
which is never tolled save when the
Unpardonable Sin is committed on
earth, and then its judgment peal rings
out like the blast of the archangel s
trumpet, breaking on the ear of the
Criminal, and on his ear alone, with
a sound that freezes his blood with hor
ror. The peal of the Bell, hung in
the azure depths of space, announces
to the Guilty one, that he is an outcast
from God s mercy for ever, that his
Crime can never be pardoned , while
the throne of the Eternal endures ;
that in the hour of Death, his soul will
be darkened by the hopeless prospect
of an eternity of wo ; wo without li
mit, despair without hope ; the torture
of the never-dying worm, and the un
quenchable flame, forever and forever.

Reader! Did the sound of the
Judgment Bell, pealing with one aw
ful toll, from the invisible air, break
over the soul of the Libertine, as in
darkness and in silence, he stood shud
dering over the victim of his Crime ?
P If in the books of the Last Day,
there shall be found written down, but
One unpardonable crime, that crime
will be known as the foul wrong, ac
complished in the gaudy Rose Cham
ber of Monk-hall, by the wretch, who
now stood trembling in the darkness
of the place, while his victim lay
senseless at his feet J

There was darkness and silence for
a few brief moments, and then a
stream of light flashed around the
Rose Chamber.

Like a fiend, returned to witness
*ome appalling scene of guilt, which he
had but a moment left, Devil-Bug stood

in the doorway of the Wa/nut Cham-
her. He grimly smiled, as he survey
ed the scene.

And then with a hurried gesture, a
pallid face and blood-shot eyes, as
though some Phantom tracked his
footsteps, Lorrimer rushed madly by
him, and disappeared into the Painted
Chamber. At the very moment of his
disappearance, Devil Bug raised the
light on high, and started backward
with a sudden impulse of surprise.

" Dead Dead and come to life !"
he shrieked, and then the gaze of his
solitary eye was fixed upon the en
trance to the Walnut Room. With a
mechanical gesture, he placed the light
upon the table and fled madly from the
chamber, while the curtains opening
into the Walnut Room rustled to and
fro, for a single instant, and then a
ghastly face, with livid cheeks and burn
ing eyes, appeared between the crimson
folds, gazing silently around the place,
with a glance, that no living man
would choose to encounter, for his
weight in gold it was so like the
look of one arisen from the dead

CHAPTER FOl H.TEENTH.

THE GUILTT WIPE.

THE light of the dark-lanther*
streamed around the a/ at, where tfo
Merchant stood.

Behind him, all was darkness, while
the lanthern, held extended i" his left
hand, flung a ruddy blaze o it, over
the outlines of the massive Long

THE GUILTY WIFE.

11:

floor, concealing the bed from view,
while from within the gorgeous curtain
ing, that low softened sound, like a wo
man breathing in her sleep, came faint
ly to the Merchant s ear.

Livingstone advanced. The man
ner in which he held the lanthern flung
his face in shadow, but you could see
that his form quivered with a tremu
lous motion, and in the attempt to
smother a groan which arose to his
lips, a thick gurgling sound like the
death-rattle, was heard in his throat.

Gazing from the shadow that enve
loped his face, Livingstone, with an in
voluntary glance took in the details of
the gorgeous couch the rich curtain
ing of light azure satin, closely drawn
around the bed ; the canopy overhead
surmounted by a circle of glittering
stars, arranged like a coronet; and
the voluptuous shapes, assumed by the
folds, as they fell drooping to the floor,
all burst like a picture on his eye.

Beside the bed stood a small table
resembling a lady s work stand co
vered with a plain white cloth. The
silver sheath of a large Bowie knife,
resting on the white cloth, shone glit
tering in the light, and attracted the
Merchant s attention.

He laid the pistol which he held at
his right side, upon the table and rais
ed the Bowie knife to the light. The
sheath was of massive silver, and the
blade of the keenest steel. The han
dle fashioned like the sheath, of mas
sive silver, bore a single name, engra
ved in large letters near the hilt, Al
gernon Fitz-Cowles, and on the blade
of polished steel, amid a wreath of
flowers glittered the motto in the ex-

silk curtains, of rich azure, fell droop- j pressive slang of southern braggarts-
ing in voluminous folds, to the very Stranger avoid a snag.

Silently Livingstone examined the
blade of the murderous weapon. It
was sharp as a razor, with the glit
tering point inclining from the edge,
like a Turkish dagger. The merchant
grasped the handle of this knife in his
right hand, and holding the lanthern

on high, advanced to the bedside.

" His own knife " muttered Liv
ingstone " shall find its way to his
cankered heart "

With the point of the knife, he silent
ly parted the hangings of the bed, and
the red glare of the lanthern flashed
within the azure folds, revealing a
small portion of the sleeping couch.

A moment passed, and Livingstone
seemed afraid to gaze within the hang
ings, for he turned his head aside,
more than once, and the thick gurg
ling noise
throat.

again was heard in his
At last, raising the lanthern

gently overhead, so that its beams
would fall along a small space of the
couch, while the rest was left in dark*
ness, and grasping the knife with a
firmer hold he gazed upon the specta
cle disclosed to his view.

Her head deep sunken in a downy
pillow, a beautiful woman, lay wrapt
in slumber. By the manner in which
the silken folds of the coverlid were
disposed, you might see that her form
was full, large and voluptuous. Thick
masses of jet-black hair fell, glossy
and luxuriant, over her round neck
and along her uncovered bosom, which
swelling with the full ripeness of
womanhood, rose gently in the light.
She lay on her side, with her head
resting easily on one large, round arm.

118

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

half hidden by the masses of black
hair, streaming over the snow white
pillow, while the other arm was flung
carelessly along her form, the light
falling softly over the clear transpa
rent skin, the full roundness of its
sHape, and the small and delicate hand,
resting gently on the coverlid.

Her face, appearing amid the tresses
of her jet-black hair, like a fair picture
half-hidden in sable drapery, was
marked by a perfect regularity of fea
ture, a high forehead, arching eye
brows and long dark lashes, resting
on the velvet skin of each glowing
cheek. Her mouth was opened slightly
as she slept, the ivory whiteness of
her teeth, gleaming through the rich
vermillion of her parted lips.

[She lay on that gorgeous couch, in
an attitude of voluptuous ease ; a per
fect incarnation of the Sensual Woman,
who combines the beauty of a mere
animal, with an intellect strong and
resolute in its every purpose^

And over that full bosom, which
rose and fell with the gentle impulse
of slumber, over that womanly bosom,
which should have been the home of
pure thoughts and wifely affections,
was laid a small and swarthy hand,
whose fingers, heavy withrings,pressed
against the ivory skin, all streaked
with veins of delicate azure, and clung
twiningly among the dark tresses
that hung drooping over the breast,
as its globes rose heaving into view,
like worlds of purity and womanhood.

It was a strange sight for a man to
&gt;ee, whose only joy, in earth or
heaven, was locked within that snowy
bosom, and yet Livingstone, the hus
band, stood firm and silent, as he

gazed upon that strange hand, half
hidden by the drooping curls.

It required but a slight motion of his
hand, and the glare of the light flashed
over the other side of the couch. The
flash of the lanthern, among the
shadows of the bed, was but for a mo
ment, and yet Livingstone beheld the
face of a dark-hueo" man, whose long
dark hair mingled its heavy curls with
the glossy tresses of his wife, while
his hand reaching over her shoulder,
rested, like a thing of foul pollution
upon her bosom.

They slumbered together, slumber
ed in their guilt, and the Avenger
stood gazing upon their faces while
their hearts were as unconscious of hi*
glance, as they were of the death whicl
glittered over them in the upraised
knife.

" Wife of mine your slumber
shall be deep and long "

And as the whisper hissed from be
tween the clenched teeth of the hus.
band, he raised the dagger suddenly
aloft, and then brought it slowly down
until its point quivered within a fin
ger s width of the heaving bosom,
while the light of the lanthern held
above his head, streamed over his livid
face, and over the blooming counte
nance of his fair young wife.

The dagger glittered over her
bosom ; lower and lower it sank until
a deeper respiration, a single heart-
drawn sigh, might have forced the
silken skin upon the glittering point,
when the guilty woman murmured in
her sleep.

" Algernon a coronet wealth
and power " were the broken words
that escaped from her lin

Again the husband raised the knife

THE GUILTY WIFE.

lit

hut it was with the hand clenched, and
the sinews stiffened for the work of
death.

" Seek your Algernon in the grave
" he whispered, with a convulsive
smile, as his blue eyes, all alive with
a glance, like a madman s gaze, sur
veyed the guilty wife " Let the coro
net be hung around your fleshless
skull let your wealth be a coffin,
and ha ! ha ! your power cor
ruption and decay "

It may have been that some feeling
of the olden-time, when the image of
that fair young wife dwelt in the
holiest temple of his heart, came sud
denly to the mind of the avenger, in
that moment of fearful suspense, for
his hand trembled for an instant and
he turned his gaze aside, while a single
scalding tear rolled down his livid
cheek.

Algernon " murmured the wife
" We will seek a home "

" In the grave !"

And the dagger rose, and gleamed
like a stream of flame overhead, and
then sank down with a whirring sound.

Is the bosom red with the stain of
blood ?

Has the keen knife severed the
veins and pierced the heart ?

The blow of a strong arm, stricken
over Livingstone s shoulder, dashed
his hand suddenly aside, and the knife
sank to the very hilt in tne pillow,
within a hair s breadth of Dora s face.
The knife touched the side of her
cheek, and a long and glossy curl,
severed from her head by the blow,
lay resting on the pillow.

Livingstone turned suddenly round,
with a deep muttered oath, while his
massive form rose towering to its full

height. Luke Harvey stood before
him, his cold and glittering eye, fixed
upon his face, with an expression of
the deepest agitation.

" Stand back Sir " muttered Li
vingstone with a quivering lip
" This spot is sabred to me ! I want
no witness to my wrong nor to my
vengeance !"

" Ha ha !" sneered Luke bending
forward until his eyes glared fixedly
in the face of the Husband " Is this
a vengeance for a man like you ?"

" Luke again I warn you leave
me to my shame, and its punish
ment"

"Shame Punishment! Ha ha ! You
have been wronged in secret,
slowly and quietly Pronged, and yet
would punish that wrong, by k olow
that brings but a single pang !"

"Luke you are right " whis
pered Livingstone, his agitated manner
subsiding into a look of calm and fear
ful determination " The wrong has
been secret, long in progress, horrible
in result. So let the punishment be.
She shall see the Death " and his
eye flashed with a maniac wildness
" She shall see the Death as it slowly
approaches, she shall feel it as it
winds its very fangs into her very
heart, she shall know that all hope is
in vain, while my voice will whisper
in her freezing ear * Dora, it is by
my will that you die ! Shriek Dora
shriek for aid ! Death is cold and
icy I can save you! I your
husband ! I can save you, but will
not ! Die Adultress die "

"Algernon " murmured Dora
half-awakened from her sleep "There
is a cold hand laid against mv
cheek"

120

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

" She wakes !" whispered Luke
"The dagger the lanthern "

It required but a single moment for
Livingstone to draw the knife, from th
pillow, where it rested against th
bloc -fling cheek of the wife, while
Luke, with a sudden moment graspec
the lanthern, and closed its door, leav
ing the Chamber wrapt in midnigh
darkness.

The husband stood motionless as a
stone, and Luke held his very breath
as the voice of Dora broke on their
ears, in tones of alarm and terror.

"Algernon " she whispered, as
she started from herslumber "Awake
Do you not hear the sound of voi
ces, by the bedside ? Hist ! Could it
have been the dream ? Algernon "
"Deuced uncomfortable to be waked-
up this way " murmured a sleepy
voice "What s the matter Dora?
What about a dream ?"

" I was awakened just now from my
sleep by the sound of voices.
I thought a blaze of light flashed round
the room, while my hus that is, Li
vingstone stood at the bedstead. And
then I felt a cold hand laid against my
cheek"

" Ha ha ! Rather good, that !
D ye know Dora that I had a dream
too? I dreamt that I was in the
front parlor, second story you know,
In your house on Fourth street, when
the old fellow came in, and read your
note on the table. Ha ha and then
are you listening ? I thought that
the old gentleman while he was read
ing, turned to a bright pea-green in the
face, and "

" Hist ! Do you not hear some one
breathing in the room ?"

"Pshaw Dora, you re nervous! Go

to sleep my love. Don t loose your
rest for all the dreams in the world.
Good night, Dora !"

" A little touch of farce with our
tragedy " half-muttered Luke, as a
quiet chuckle shook his frame
" Egad ! If they talk in this strain
much longer, I ll have to guffaw ! It s
rather too much for my risibles ; this
is ! A husband standing in the dark
by the bedside, while his wife and her
paramour are telling their pleasant
dreams, in which he figures as the
hero"

Whether a smile passed over Li
vingstone s face, or a frown, Luke
could not tell, for the room was dark
as a starlit night, yet the quick gasp
ing sound of a man struggling for
breath, heard through the darkness,
seem to indicate any thing but the plea
sant laugh or the jovial chuckle.

" They sleep again !" muttered Luke
" She has sunken into slumber
while Death watches at the bedside.
Curse it how that fellow snores !"

There was a long pause of dark
ness and silence. No word escaped
the Husband s lips, no groan convul
sed his chest, no half-muttered cry of
agony, indicated the struggle which
was silently rending his soul, as with
a viper s fangs.

"Livingstone " whispered Luke
after a long pause " Where are you?
onfound it man, I can t hear you
&gt;reathe. I m afraid to uncover the
ight it may awaken them again.
. say Livingstone had n t we better
eave these quarters "

" I could have borne expressions of
remorse from her lips I could have
istened to sudden outpourings of hor
or wrung from her soul by the very

THE GUILTY WIFE.

191

blackness of her guilt, but this grovel
ling familiarity with vice !"

" Matter-of-fat pollution, as you
might observe " whispered Luke.

" Luke, I tell you, the cup is full to
overflowing but I will drain it to the
dregs!"

"Now s your time " whispered
Luke, as, swinging the curtain aside,
he suffered the light of the lanthern to
fall over the bed " Dora looks quite
pretty. Fitz-Cowles decidedly inte
resting "

" And on that bosom have I slept !"
exclaimed Livingstone, in a voice of
agony, as he gazed upon his slumber
ing wife "Those arms have clung
round my neck and now ! Ha !
Luke you may think me mad, but I
tell ye man, that there is the spirit of
a slow and silent revenge creeping
through my veins. She has dishonor
ed me ! Do you read anything like
forgiveness in my face?"

" Not much o it I assure you. But
come, Livingstone let s be going.
This is not the time nor place for
your revenge. Let s travel."

Livingstone laid down the bowie
knife, and with a smile of bitter
mockery, seized a small pair of scissors
from the work-basket which stood on
the table.

" You smile, Luke?" he whispered,
as, leaning over the bedside, he laid
his hand upon the jet-black hair of the
slumbering Fitz-Cowles ; " Ha-ha !
I will leave the place, but d ye see,
Luke, I must take some slight keep
sake, to remind me of the gallant
Colonel. A lock of his hair, you
know, Luke ?"

" Egad ! Livingstone, I believe
you re going mad ! A lock of his

hair? Pshaw ! You ll want a straight
jacket soon "

" And a lock of my Dora s hair "
whispered Livingstone, as his blue
eyes flashed from beneath his dark
eyebrows, while his lips wore that
same mocking smile "But you see
the knife saved me all trouble. Here
is a glossy tress severed by the Colo
nel s dagger. Now let me wind them
together, Luke, let me lay them next
to my heart, Luke yes, smile my
fellow Ha! ha! ha!

" Hist ! Your wife stirs in her
sleep you will awaken them again."

" D ye know, Luke " cried Liv
ingstone, drawing his partner close to
his side, and looking in his face, with
a vacant glance, that indicated a tem
porary derangement of intellect

D ye know, Luke, that I didn t do
that, o my own will? Hist! Luke
closer closer I ll tell you. The
Devil was at the bedside, Luke ; he
whispered it in my ear, he bade me
take these keepsakes ha, ha, ha
what a jolly set of fellows we are !
And then, Luke " his voice sank to
a thrilling whisper " He pointed
with his iron hand to the last scene,
in which my vengeance shall be
complete. She shall beg for mercy,
Luke ; aye, on her knees, but ha,
ha, ha kill Jcill kill ! is writ
ten in letters of blood before my eyes,
every where, Luke, every where.
Don t you see it ?"

He pointed vacantly at the air as he
spoke, and seized Luke by the shoul
der, as though he would command his
attention to the blood-red letters.

Luke was conscious that he stood
in the presence of a madman.

Inflexible as he was in his own se.

122

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

cret purpose of revenge, upon the wo
man who had trampled on his very
heart, Luke still regarded the Mer
chant with a feeling akin to brother
hood. As the fearful fact impressed
itself on his soul, that Livingstone
stood before him, deprived of reason,
an expression of the deepest feeling
shadowed the countenance of Luke,
and his voice was broken ID its tones
as he endeavoured to persuade the
madman, to leave the scene of his dis
honor and shame.

" Come ! Livingstone ! let us go "
said Luke, taking his partner by
the arm, and leading him gently to
ward the closet.

" But I ve got the keepsakes safe,
Luke " whispered Livingstone, as
tfrat wild light flashed from his large
blue eyes "D ye see the words in
the air, Luke ? Now they change to
her name Dora, Dora, Dora ! All
in blood-red letters. I say Luke, let s
have a quiet whist party there s
four of us Dora and I ; you and
Fitz-Cowles "

" I m willing " exclaimed Luke,
as with a quick movement he seized
the pistol left by Livingstone on the
table, and concealed it within the
breast of his greatcoat "Suppose we
step into the next room, and get every
thing ready for the party "

" You re keen, Luke, keen, but I m
even with you " whispered Living
stone as his livid face lighted up with
n sudden gleam of intelligence
" Here we stand on the threshold of
this closet we are about to leave my
wife s bed-room. You think I m mad.
Do I look like a madman ? I know
rh^re is no whist-paity to be held this

night, I know that Hist. Luke
Don t you see it, all pictured forth in
the air 1 The scene of my vengeance t
In colors of blood, painted by the
Devil s hand ? Yonder Luke yon
der ! How red it grows and then
in letters of fire, every where, every
where, is written Dora Dora
Dora"

It was a fearful spectacle to see
that strong man, with his imposing fi
gure, raised to its full stature and his
thoughtful brow, lit up with an ex
pression of idiotic wonder, as standing
on the verge of the secret door, he
pointed wildly at the blood-red picture
which his fancy had drawn in the va
cant air while his blue eyes dilated
with a maniac glance, and his face
grew yet more livid and ghastly.

"Come, Livingstone " cried Luke
gently leading him through the close!

"You had better leave this place "
" And yet Dora, is sleeping here ?

My young wife ? The mother of my
children? Do ye think Luke, that
I d have believed you last Thursday
morning, if you had then told me
this ? Livingstone, this day-week,
you will leave a chamber in a brothel,
and leave your young wife, sleeping
in another man s arms. But never
mind Luke it will all be right.
For I tell ye, it is there, there before
me in colors of blood ! That last
scene of my vengeance ! And there

there in letters of flame Dora !
Dora ! Dora ! "

And while the fair young wife slept
quietly in the bed of guilt and shame,
Luke led the Merchant from the room
a id from the house.

THE DISHONOR.

123

CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. &lt;

THE DISHONOR.

ALL was silent within the Rose ;
Chamber. For a single moment that j
pale visage glared from the crimson j
^hangings, concealing the entrance to\
the Walnut Room, and then with aj
measured footstep, Byrnewood Arling
ton advanced along the floor, his
countenance ghastly as the face of
Lazarus, at the very instant, when in
obedience to the words of the Incar
nate, life struggled with corruption and
death, over his cheek and brow.

Bring home to your mind the scene,
when Lazarus lay prostrate in the
grave, a stiffened corse, his face all
clammy with corruption, the closed
eyes surrounded by loathsome circles
of decay, the cheeks sunken, and the
lips fallen in : let the words of Jesus
ring in your ears, Lazarus, come
forth !" And then as the blue eyelids
slowly unclose, as the gleam of life
shoots forth from the glassy eye, as
the flush of health struggles with the
yellowish hue of decay along each
cheek,as life and death mingling in that
face for a single moment, maintain a
fearful combat for the mastery; then I
pray you, gaze upon the visage of
Byrnewood Arlington, and mark how
like it is to the face of one arisen from
the dead ; a ghastly face, on whose
fixed outline the finger-traces of cor
ruption are yet visible, from whose
eyes the film of the grave is not yet
passed away.

The gaze of Byrnewood, as he
strode from the entrance of the Wal
nut Chamber, was riveted to the floor.
Had the eyes of the rattlesnake gleam-
el from the carpet, slowly drawing its

victim to his ruin, Byrnewood could
not have fixed his gaze upon the ob
ject in the centre of the floor, with a
more fearful and absorbing intensity.

There, thrown prostrate on the
gaudy carpet, insensible and motion
less, the form of Mary Arlington lay
at the brother s feet.

He sank silently on his knees.

He took her small white hand
now cold as marble within his own,
he swept the unbound tresses back
from her paliid brow. Her eyes were
closed as in death, her lips hung apart,
the lower one trembling with a scarce
ly perceptible movement, her cheek
was pale as ashes, with a deep red tint
in the centre.

Byrnewood uttered no sound, nor
shrieked forth any wild exclamation
of revenge, or wo, or dispair. He
silently drew the folds of the night-
robe round her form, and veiled her
bosom but a moment agone warmed
into a glow by the heart s fires, now
paled by the fingers of the ravisher
he veiled her fair young bosom from
the light.

It was a sad sight to look upon.
That face, so fair and blooming, but a
moment past, now pale as death, with
spot of burning red on the centre of
each cheek : that bosom, a moment
since, heaving with passion, now still
and motionless ; those delicate hands
with tiny fingers, which had bravely
fought for honor, for virtue, for purity,
an instant ago, now resting cold and
stiffened by her side.

Thick tresses of dark brown hair,
hung round her neck. With that
same careful movement of his hand,
Byrnewood swept them aside. Along
the smooth surface of that fair neck

(24

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

like seme noisome reptile, trailing
over a lovely flower, a large vein,
black and distorted, shot upward,
darkening the glossy skin, while it
told the story of the maiden s dishonor
and shame.

" My sister !" was the solitary ex
clamation that broke from Byrne-
wood s lips as he gazed upon the form
of the unconscions girl, and his large
dark eye, dilating as he spoke, glanced
around with an expression of strange
meaning.

He raised her form in his arms, and
kissed her cold lips again and again.
No tear trickled from his eyelids ; no
sigh heaved his bosom ; no deep mut
tered execration manifested the agita
tion of his soul.

"My sister!" he again whispered,and
gathered her more close to his heart.

A slight flush deepening over her
cheek, even while he spoke, gave
signs of returning consciousness.

Mary slowly unclosed her eyes, and
gazed with a wandering glance around
ihe room. An instant passed ere she
discovered that she lay in Byrnewood s
arms.

" Oh, brother " she exclaimed,
not with a wild shriek, but in a low-
toned voice, whose slightest accent
quivered with an emphasis of despair
" Oh, brother ! Leave me leave
me. I am not worthy of your touch.
I am vile, brother, oh, most vile!
Leave me leave me, for I am lost !"

" Mary !" whispered Byrnewood,
resisting her attempt to unwind his
arms from her form, while the blood,
filling the veins of his throat, produced
an effect like strangulation " Mary !
Do not do not speak thus I

He could say no more, but his face
dropped on her cold bosom, and the
tears, which he had silently prayed for,
came at last.

He wept, while that low choakinj
noise, sounding in his throat, that in
voluntary heaving of the chest, tha
nervous quivering of the lip, all be
tokened the strong man wrestling witfr
his agony.

" Do not weep for me, brother "
she said, in the same low-toned voice
"I am polluted, brother, and am
not worthy of the slightest tear you
shed for me. Unwind your arms
brother, do not resist me for the
strength of despair is in these hands
unwind your arms, and let me no
longer pollute you by my touch "

There was something fearful in the
xpression of her face as she spoke.
Ihe was no longer the trembling child
whose young face, marked the inexpe
rience of her stainless heart. A new i^
world had broken upon her soul, not a
world of green trees, silver streams
and pleasant flowers, but a chaos of
ashes, and mouldering flame ; a lurid
sky above, a blasted soil below, and
one immense horizon of leaden clouds,
hemming in the universe of desolation.

She had sprung from the maiden
nto the woman, but a blight was on
her soul forever. The crime had not
only stained her person with dishonor,

t, like the sickening warmth of the
hot-house, it had forced the flower of
her soul, into sudden and unnatural
maturity. It was the maturity of pre
cocious experience. In her inmost
soul, she felt that she was a dishonored
hing, whose very touch was pollution,
whose presence, among the pure and
stainless, would be a bitter mockery

ThE DISHONOR.

125

and foul reproach. The guilt was not
hers, but the Ruin blasted her purity
forever.

" Unwind your arms, my brother "
she exclaimed, tearing herself from his
embrace, with all a maniac s strength
"I am polluted. You are pure.
Oh do not touch me do not touc-h
me. Leave me to my shame oh,
leave me "

She unwound her form from his
embrace, and sank crouching into a
corner of the Rose Chamber, extend
ing her hands with a frightened ges
ture, as though she feared his slightest
touch.

" Mary" shrieked Byrnewood, fling
ing his arms on high, with a move
ment of sudden agitation " Oh, do
not look upon me thus ! Come to me
oh, Mary come to me, for I am
your brother."

The words, the look and the trem
bling movement of his outspread arms,
all combined, acted like a spell upon
the intellect of the ruined girl. She
rose wildly to her feet, as though im
pelled by some invisible influence, and
fell tremblingly into her brother s arms.

While one dark and horrible thought,
was working its way through the ave
nues of his soul, he gathered her to
his breast again and again.

And in that moment of silence and
unutterable thought, the curtains lead
ing into the Painted Chamber were
slowly thrust aside, and Lorrimer
again appeared upon the scene. Strick
en with remorse, he had fled with
a madman s haste from the scene
of his crime, and while his bosom was
torn by a thousand opposing thoughts,
he had endeavored to drown the voice
within him, and crush the memory of

the nameless wrong. It was all in
vain. Impelled by an irresistible de-
sire, to look again upon the victim of
his crime,he re-entered the Rose Cham
ber. It was a strange sight, to see
the Brother kneeling on the floor, as
he gathered his sister s form in his
arms, and yet the Seducer, gave
no sign nor indication of surprise.

A fearful agitation was passing over
the Libertine s soul, as unobserved by
the brother or sister, he stood gazing
upon them with a wandering glance.
His face, so lately flushed with pas
sion, in its vilest hues, was now palest
and livid. His white lips, trembled
with a nervous moment, and his hands,
extended on either side, clutched va
cantly at the air, as though he wrestled
with an unseen foe.

While the thought of horror, was
slowly darkening over Byrnewood s
soul, a thought as dark and horrible
gathered like a Phantom over the mind
of Lorrimer.

A single word of explanation, will
make the subsequent scene, clear and
intelligible to the reader.

From generation to generation, the
family of the Lorrimer s, had been r A
subject to an aberration of intellect, as JjJ
sudden as it was terrible ; always re
sulting from any peculiar agitation of
mind, which might convulse the soul,
with an emotion remarkable for its
power or energy. It was a hallucina
tion, a temporary madness, a sudden
derangement of intellect. It always
succeeded an uncontrollable outburst
of anger, or grief, or joy. From fa
ther to son, since the family had first
come over to Pennsylvania, with the
Proprietor and Peace-Maker William
Penn, this temporary derangement ofj

IY\/1&gt;

126

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

intellect, had descended as a fearful
heritage.

Lorrimer had been subject to this
madness, but once in his life, when
his father s corse lay stiffened before
his eyes. And now, as he stood ga
zing upon the form of the brother and
sister, Lorrimer, felt this temporary
madness stealing over his soul, in the
form of a strange hallucination, while
he became conscious, that in a single
moment, the horror which shook his
frame, would rise to his lips in words
of agony and fear.

u Raise your hands with mine, to
Heaven, Mary " exclaimed Byrne-
wood as the Thought which had been
working over his soul, manifested its
intensity in words " Raise your
hands with mine, and curse the author
of your ruin ! Lift your voice with
mine, up to the God, who beheld the
wrong who will visit the wronger
with a doom meet, for his crime
lift your voice with mine, and curse
him"

" Oh Byrnewood, do not, do not
curse him. The wrong has been done
but do not, I beseech you, visit his head
with a curse "

" Hear me, oh God, before whom,
I now raise my hands, in the vow of
justice ! In life I will be to this wretch,
as a Fate, a Doom, a Curse !

"I am vile oh God steeped in
the same vices, which blacken the
heart of this man, cankered by the
same corruption. But the office, which
I now take on myself, raising this
right hand to thee, in witness of my
fixed purpose, would sanctify the dark
est fiend in hell ! I am the avenger
of my sister s wrong ! She was in
nocent, sne was pure, she trusted and

was betrayed! I will avenge her.
Before thee, I swear to visit v her wrong,
upon the head of her betrayer, with u
doom never to be forgotten in the me
mory of man. This right hand I de
dicate to this solemn purpose come
what will, come what may, let danger
threaten or death stand in my path,
through sickness and health, through
riches or poverty, I now swear, to hold
my steady pathway onward, my only
object in life the avengement of rny
sister s wrong ! He shall die by this
hand oh God I swear it by thy
name I swear it by my soul I
swear it by the Fiend who impelled
the villian to this deed of crime "

As he whispered forth this oath, in
a voice which speaking from the depths
of his chest, had a hollow and sepul
chral sound, the fair girl flung herself
on his breast, and with a wild shriek
essayed to delay the utterance of the
curse, by gathering his face, to her
bosom.

For a moment her efforts were suc
cessful. Lorrimer had stood silent
and pale, while the deep-toned
voice of Byrnewood Arlington, break-
ing in accents of doom upon his ear,
had aided and strengthened the strange
hallucination which was slowly gather
ing over his brain like a mighty spell.

" There is a wide river before me,
its broad waves tinged with the last
red rays of a winter sunset " such
were the words he murmured, extend
ing his hand, as though pointing to the
scene, which dawned upon his soul
41 A wide river with its waves surging
against the wharves of a mighty city.
Afar I behold steeples and roofs and
towers, all glowing in the beams of thft
setting sun. And as I gaze, the waves

MARY, BYRNEWOOD, AND LORRIMER. Page 126.

THE DISHONOR.

127

turn to blood, red and ghastly blood
and now the sky is a-flame, and the
clouds sweep slowly past, bathed in the
same crimson hue. All is blood
the river rushes before me, and the sky
and the city all pictured in colors
of blood.

"" " An invisible hand is leading me to
my doom. There is Death for me,
in yonder river, and I know it, yet
down, down to the rivers banks, down,
down into the red waters, I must go.
Ha ! ha ! Tis a merry death ! The
blood- red waves rise above me high
er, higher, higher ! Yonder is the city,
yonder the last rays of the settrng sun,
glitter on the roof and steeple, yonder
is the blood-red sky and ah ! I tell
ye I will not die you shall not sink
me beneath these gory waves ! Devil!
Is not your vengeance satisfied must
you feast your eyes with the sight of
my closing agonies must your hand
grasp me by the throat, and your foot
trample me beneath the waves ? I tell
you I will not, will not die "

" Ha ha ha ! Here s purty
going s on " laughed the hoarse voice
of Devil-Bug, as his hideous form ap
peared in the doorway of the Walnut
Chamber, with his attendant negroes
at his back "Seems the gal helped
him off. There he sits the ornery
feller, with his sister in his arms
while Gusty, is a-doin some ravin s
on his own indivdooal hook. Come
here Glow-worm here Musquito

come here my pets, and tend to this
leetle family party "

In another instant the Rose Cham
ber became the scene of a strange
picture.

Byrnewood had arisen to his feet,

the hallucination which possessed his
brain. The handsome Libertine stood
in the centre of the room, his form di
lating to its full stature, his face the
hue of ashes, while with his hazel eyes,
glaring on vacancy, he clutched wild
ly at the air, starting backward tit ths
same moment, as though some? invisi
ble hand, was silently impelling him
to the brink of the blood -red river,
which rolled tumultuously at his feet,
which slowly gathered nround him,
which began to heave upward to his
very lips.

On one side, in a half-kneeling po
sition, crouched Mafy Arlington, her

large blue eyes,

from her

pallid face, as with her upraised hands,
crossed over her bosom, she gazed
upon the agitated countenance of the
seducer, with a glance of mingled awe
and wonder ; while, on the other side,
stern and erect, Byrnewood, with his
pale visage daikening in a settled r
frown, with one foot advanced and his
hand upraised, seemed about to strike
the libertine to the floor.

In the background, rendered yet
more hideous by the dimness of the
scene, Devil-Bug stood grinning in
derisive triumph as he motioned his
attendants, the Herculean negroes, to
advance and secure their prey.

There was silence for a single mo
ment. Lorrimer still stood clutching
at the vacant air, Mary still gazed
upon his face in awe, Byrnewood yet

in his meditated blow, while
Devil-Bug, with Musquito and Glow
worm at his back, seemed quietly en
joying the entire scene, as he glanced
from side to side with his solitary eye.
" Unhand me I will not die "
hile Lorrimer stood spell-bound by ( shrieked Lorrimer, as he fancied thai
9

128

THE MERCHANT S DAUGHTER.

phantom hand, gathering tightly round
his throat, while the red waters swept
surging to his very lips " I will not
die I defy ah ! ah ! You strangle
me"

" The hour of your death has come!
You have said it and it shall be so!"
whispered Byrnewood, advancing a
single step, as his dark eye was fixed
upon the face of Lor rimer " While
your own guilty heart spreads a blood-
red river before your eyes, this hand
no phantom hand shall work
your death !"

He sprang forward, while a shriek
arose from Mary s lips, he sprang
forward with his eye blazing with ex
citement, and his outspread hand
ready for the work of vengeance, but
as he sprang, the laugh of Devil-Bug
echoed at his back, and the sinewy
arms of the negroes gathered suddenly
round his form and flung him as sud
denly to the floor.

" Here s fine goin s on " exclaim
ed Devil-Bug, as he glanced from
face to face " A feller who s been a
leetle too kind to a gal, stands a-makin
speeches at nothin . The gal kneels
on tho carpet as though she were a

gettin up a leetle prayer on her own
account ; and this ere onery feller
git a good grip o him you bull-dogs
sets up a small shop o cussin and
sells his cusses for nothin ! Here s
a tea party for ye "

" What does all this mean, Devil-
Bug " exclaimed Lorrimer, in his
usual voice, as the hallucination passed
from him like a dream, leaving him
utterly unconscious of the strange
vision which had a moment since ab
sorbed his very soul " What does
all this mean ? Ha ! Byrnewood and
Mary I remember 1 You are her
brother are you not?"

" I am her avenger " said Byrne-
wood, with a ghastly smile, as he en-
deavoured to free himself from the
grasp of the negroes " And your
executioner ! Within three days you
shall die by this hand !"

u Ha-ha-ha!" laughed Devil-Bug
"There s more than one genelman
as has got a say in that leetle matter.
How d ye feel, young man? Did you
ever take opium afore? You won t
go to sleep nor nothin ? We can t do
what we like with you ? Kin we ? Ho
ho-ho ! I venders how thafi

BOOK THE SECOND.

THE DAY AFTER THE NIGHT.

THE FORGER.

CHAPTER FIRST.

PITZ-COWLES AT HOME.

scene changes to a Chamber
ID the fourth story of the TOX HOTEL,
which arises along Chestnut street, a
monster-building, with some hundred
windows varying its red-brick face,
in the way of eyes, covered with green-
blind shutters, looking very much like
so many goggles intended to preserve
the sight of the visual organs aforesaid;
while the verandah, on the ground
floor, affording an entrance to the bar
room, might be likened to the mouth
of the grand-edifice, always wide open
and ready to swallow a customer.

The sunshine of a cold, clear win
ter morning was streaming dimly, be
tween the half-closed inside shutters,
of the small chamber on the fourth
story. The faint light, pouring be
tween the shutters, of the two win
dows, looking to the south, served to
reveal, certain peculiar characteristics
of the place.

There was a dressing bureau, sur
mounted by a hanging mirror, stand
ing between the two windows of the
chamber. Along the marble top of
the bureau, were disposed various bot
tles of perfumes, whose strong scent
impregnated the atmosphere with re
markable reminiscences of musk, and
orange, and lemon, and patchovlly ;
a pair of well-used kid gloves, which
had been white yesterday ; a rumpled
black scarf j a Play bill figured off
with intoxicated letters, displaying the
entertainment at the Walnut Street
Theatre the night before ; and a glit
tering bowie knife, side by side with
its silver sheath.

All over the carpet, were scattered
Windsor Chairs, either grouped in cir
cles, as though they were talking about
the various gentry who had reposed on
their well-cushioned seats ; or fixed in
strange positions along the walls, Itke
waiters at a party, overburdened with
coats and vests and stocks, and other
articles of apparel, thrown carelessly

1*29

130

THE FORGER.

over their rounds ; or yet again flung
down on the floor, with their heels in
the air, as though they had taken a
drop too much, and didn t know how
to get up again.

There was a large sofa on one side
of the room, a coal fire blazing in the
grate opposite ; while in the dim dis
tance, you might perceive the outlines
of a bed, and hear the deep bass of a
heavy snore, which held a concert of
its own, within the closely drawn cur
tains.

Altogether, that entire room, located
in the fourth story of the Ton House,
said as plainly as a room can say,
that somebody had come home very late
last night, or very early this morning,
most probably in liquor ; and called
up as witnesses to this interesting asser
tion, the chairs thrown disorderly
about the floor, the gloves and Bowie
knife on the dressing bureau, the hat
on the sofa, and the heavy snore with
in the bed.

Sitting in the blaze of light stream
ing between the aperture of the half-
closed shutters, was a small Creole
boy, whose slight yet perfectly pro
portioned form, was perched on the
edge of a Windsor chair, as with his
legs crossed and his hair flung back
from his tawny face, the young gen
tleman was briskly engaged in elabo
rating a fashionable boot into the re
quisite degree of polish.

The Boy was eminently handsome.
His face was a light brown in hue,
yet perfectly regular in every feature ;
his complexion clear as a ripe Seckel
pear; his lips red as May cherries;
his eyebrows penciled and arching,
and his eyes full, large, and black ;
brilliant as diamonds, and glittering :

as icicles. Long curling hair, mark
ed by that peculiar jet black, tinged
with a shade of deep blue, which de
signates the child of white and African
parents, fell waving around his neck
and face, in stiffened locks, resem
bling in their texture, the mane of a
horse. His form, light, springy and
agile, was the Ideal of a Creole Cupid.
Not an outline too large or too small,
not the slightest disproportion visible
in a single limb ; with small feet and
delicate hands, a waist as lithe as a
willow, and a hollow in the back like
a bow gently bent, the Creole, was al
together one of the most beautiful
things, ever fashioned by the hand of
Nature.

He was a pretty child, and yet his
large black eyes had something in
their glance which spoke of a pre
cocious intimacy with the vices and
intrigues of manhood.

" Massa tole Dim to polish dat boot
until he see his face in de morroc-
cor " muttered the young gentle
man, brushing away at the glittering
leather " Dim can see his nose, and
his two eyes in de boot, but the mouth
aint not perfect. Stop a minnit, I
bring dat feature out ha, ha, hah !"

It was a pleasure to hear the little
fellow talk, there was such a delicate
accent lingering on his words ; and
his laugh, not at all similar to the
usual African guffaw, was a quiet
chuckle, which rolled lusciously in his
mouth like a delicious morsel, whose
sweetness he wished to enjoy at leisure.

"Tink I shall hab to discharge
Vfassa. Debbil of a flare-up tween
me and him some day when I tells
him ; l l dont want you any more, you
sah ! you kin take dem wages and

FITZ-COWLES AT HOME,

131

go ! Kep Dim up till broke ob day.
Say dat Morroccor don shine 1 Break
de lookin -glasses heart I tells you.
Till broke ob day kep Dim a-waitin ,
and den tumbles into bed, widout so
much as giving de chile a-quataw !
Oh de High-Golly !"

This appeal to Master Endymion s
favorite Saint, the High-Golly. sup
posed to be some imaginary Deity,
created by the fertile fancy of the
young Creole, was occasioned by a sud
den mishap with the boot, which resent
ing a vigorous push of the brush, slip
ped out of his hands, and went spin
ning across the room.

" Wonder if the debbil aint in dat
Morroccor? I jis does. Nebber see
sich a boot in all my born days. I
lay a bran new brass dollar, dat if I
was to set dat boot at de head of the
stair, and no watch him, he d streak
it right off to de bar room, and call
for a mint-julap, an pull out his quar-
tair to pay for it ! I jis try him some
day Ha! Ha! Ha!"

" I say Dim !"

"Yes Massa I se about "

" I say, Dim !" continued the voice
which resounded from the interior of
the bed-curtains, in the dark corner of
the room, where the snore had been
heard "I say Dim, what kind of a
day is it ?"

" Bran new day Massa. Got it s
new coat and trowse s on."

" I say Dim, what have we got to
do to day ?"

" Last night de Curnel, gib dis chile
a kick, in order to mem randum dese
tings on Dim s memory. Dis morn-
in you got to pay all your creditors.
Dey comes in about an hour. High-
Golly aint dero a lot ob em ? Den

you got to see de Lady, who libs in
Fourth street. Den you got to go,
down town, to see if ole Devil-Bug,
keeps dat dere feller safe. You
knows who I means ? Den you got to
gib Dim, a qua-taw, and not to gib him
no kick, by no means "

" Dressing-gown Dim !"

" Yes, Massa "

" Got any hot water, ready for me,
Dim ?"

" Biles like a steam ingine "

" Light up the room, Dim !"

And in obedience to this request,
Endymion flung back the shutters,
and the full glare of the sunlight pour-
ed into the room. The owner of the
voice and snore heard from within
the curtains, sprung from the bed and
assuming the dressing gown, advan
ced toward the windows.

Col. Fitz-Cowles, the handsome co
lonel Fitz-Cowles, stood revealed in
the light, his dark-hued face looking
somewhat worn and haggard, around
the eyes, while his slender form, at-
tired in the rainbow morning-gown
and close fitting drawers, though well
proportioned, and graceful in its out
lines, by no means displayed that per
fection of symmetry, which distin
guished the person of the millionaire
in broad daylight, along Chesnut
street. For instance , the Colonel was
thicker around the waist, thinner about
the hips, smaller in the region of the
calves, than was usual with him, when
arrayed in full dress. His face was
very pale and his cheeks lacked that
deep vermillion tint, which gave such
life to his dusky countenance at the
evening party, or the afternoon parade,

" Dim you d 1 " exclaimed the
Colonel, bestowing a gentle hint upon

132

THE FORGER.

the gentleman of color, with the toe
of his slipper "Go down and get
my breakfast. Tell, the cook to but
ter my toast, and broil my steak.
Vanish !"

Dim vanished through the door at
the extreme end of the apartment. Ar
ranging his shaving materials on the
marble top of the dressing bureau,
Fitz-Cowles commenced the solemn
ceremonies of the toillette.

"Good razor that! Keen! Bad
soap this must kick the barber who
sold it to me. Just think of my tick
lish position ! In debt up to the ears,
forced to leave the United States Hotel
only a day since, in order to avoid my
creditors : perched in the fourth story
of the Ton House ; and why ? Be
cause I can t use the solid stuff, locked
up in that old hair trunk. Can t use
it. Somebody might find out some
thing if I did. Curse the thing but I
think the old trunk s laughing at me "

Razor in hand Fitz-Cowles stooped
to the floor, and drew from beneath
the sofa, an old hair trunk, which
looked as if it had been through all
Napoleon s campaigns, and suffered in
the battle of Waterloo ; it was so bat
tered, and scarred and weather-beaten,
with great wounds of uncovered lea
ther visible among the worn-out hair,
of its exterior.

"An hundred thousand locked up in
that old ruffian of a trunk " mutter
ed Fitz-Cowles, gazing upon the ob
ject, with an angry scowl "Half in
sovereigns half in notes ! The d 1
throttle the fool, why could nt he get it
all in American gold ?"

" De toast is buttered and de steak
\g briled " and as he spoke, Endy-
mion anterrod the room, carrying the

breakfast of his Master in his hands
" Muss discharge dat cook. She gits
quite sassy "

" Dim " cried Fitz-Cowles, mak-
ing a hideous face at the glass in the
effort to shave his chin " Set my
breakfast down by the fire, and come
here. Now, Dim, answer me, one
question. Who are we ?"

" Massa take de chile for a philly
sofer ? Dat berry cute question l
^Sometime we are a plantaw from the
Souf sometime we are a son of Mex
ican Prince ; oder time we come from
Englan and our fader is a Lord. De
High-Golly ! We are so many tings,
dat de debbil hisself could nt count
em " ;

" Where were we this time last
month ?"

"Charleston, Massa"

"The month before?"

" New Orleans Massa "

" Month afore, that, eh, Dim ?"
"Bos on Massa"

" How long since we first fixed our
quarters in this city ?"

" Six month ago, and been a trav
ellin about eber since. Led dis chile
a debbil ob a life "

"What were we travelling about
for eh?"

" Axe de ole hair trunk. He tell
you plain as pie-crust

" I ll tell you what it is, Dim "
exclaimed Fitz-Cowles laying down
the razor, and turning to the handsome
Creole boy " If you ever whisper a
word to any body, about any-thing
you may have seen or heard, while
you travelled about with me, these last
six months, I ll just take this knife,
and skin you, you black scoundrel,
skii you d ye hear?"

FITZ-COWLES AT HOME.

133

Dim looked up into the scowling
face of his master, with a glance of
perfect calmness. The brow of Fitz-
Cowles was disfigured by a hideous
frown, and his entire countenance,
wore an expression, characteristic of a
low bully, who has been accustomed
to the vilest haunts, in the most cor
rupt cities of the South. Dim was
used to these sudden outbursts of pas
sion, when his master, dropping his
gentlemanly repose of manner, was
wont to stand before him with his
Bowie knife in hand, while with a
threatening tongue and sullen brow, he
bade him reveal the things he had seen
and the words he had heard; if he dared.

" You black scoundrel, d ye hear?"

" De High-Golly ! Dim aint black
and Dim aint no scoundrel. Yes Mas
sa, I hears "

" If you ever whisper a word, mind,
a word, I d just take this bowie knife,
and cut your heart from your body !
I ddo tltellyou "

" What make you do dat for ? Dim
could nt draw bref den "

" Pshaw ! You know better than to
whisper a word ! Here help me to
dress Dim. My corsets, Dim "

" Here they are Massa " cried
Dim, throwing open, one of the draw
ers of the dressing bureau " New
pair Massa "

u Lay that Morning gown on the
chair. Now lace me. Tighter I say
that ill do. That s about the
waist we want is n t it Dim ?"

" Yes Massa. Dat s de wasp com
plete !"

"Hips, Dim "

" Which hip you want, Massa 1
Big hip or little hip ?" cried Endymion,

rummaging in the open drawer " Dia
pair do ?"

" More subdued, Dim, more sub
dued. Just large enough to make my
frock coat set out in the skirt. That s
the idea "

With a careful movement Endymion
strapped certain detached portions of
padding, around his master s form be
low the waist, and in a moment, this
part of the ceremony was finished,
giving quite a voluptuous swell to the
outline of the Colonel s figure.

" Calves, Dim "

" Which boots Massa wear to-day ?
Hab dis big calf or de toder one ?"

" We want a good calf to-day, Dim.
A large, fat calf. That pair will do.
Tie it round the leg there, there.
Draw the stocking over it gently
gent-ly! That s about the outline
eh?"

" Dicky or a shirt, to-day, eh,
Dim ?"

" Shirt, Massa, as you are goin to
hold your Lebee /"

" Ha ! ha ! Wont there be a lot o
em the creditors ? Black scarf
Dim ?"

" Dar it is, Massa. Turn de collar
down and tie up de scarf wid dis gole
pin dat s de ticket!"

" Now, Dim, my slippers. She
worked them for me, you know, Dim?
How many ladies are engaged to be
married to us, if we will have them ?"

"Dare s de soap biler s daughter,
who spends her fader s fortin in per
fumery. Dare s de rich grocery man s
daughter, and de hardware merchant s
daughter, and de wool merchant s only
chile, and dare s "

" Oh, d d them ; the set is cursed

134

THE FORGER.

low. Black pants, Dim ? Which is
our principle ticket in the female line I
Eh, Dim?"

" Ha, ha, ha ! Down Fourth street,
Massa. De old genelmin in New
York, and de lady at home by her
self! De High-Golly !"

" Vest, Dim. The new black vest,
which, last night, came home from
the tailor. What hour will the credi
tors be here ?"

"Dey comes in that ar door "
observed Endymion, pointing to the
door on the right of the western win
dow " And, accordin to your direc
tions, dey is shown into dat door,
which conducts em into de large sal-
loon, where dere s fire to warm their
hands,and cheers to rest their bodies "

" Hallo, Dim, there s a tap at the
door " exclaimed Fitz-Cowles, as,
arrayed in the full splendor of his
morning costume, with a gaudy silk
wrapper, all broken out into spots of
green, blue, and red, thrown round
his limbs, he resumed his seat in the
easy chair, beside the breakfast table
"I know the knock. It is Count
Common Sewer show him in."

Opening the door near the western
window, Dim made a profound bow,
as he ushered the visiter into the pre
sence of Col. Fitz-Cowles.

" De Editaw ob de Daily Black
Mail. Mistaw Poodle, sah Buzby
Poodle s-a-h!"

" Ha-ha ! Curnel Bon jour, as
&lt;re say it French. Seen the Black
MaJ this morning. Capital on dit
about your gold mines quite the
thing ensemble de chose, as we say
in domestic French "

As he spoke, Buzby Poodle, Esq.,
tood bowing and scraping in the cen

tre of the vacant space of carpet, ex
tending before the breakfast cable,
Buzby PoodL wasn t handsome. Not
precisely. He was a little thickset
man, with a short heavy body, shaped
something like a pine-knot, and irre
gular legs, fashioned like a pair of in
verted parentheses, or like a pair of
sickles with their backs placed to
gether. It must be confessed that his
legs were deplorably knock-kneed near
ly acquainted with each other at the
knees, and quite distant in their inter
course at the feet. Buzby s feet were
not small ; Douzzle the bootmaker has
been heard to say, with evident pain,
that he would just as soon make slip
pers for a young hippopotamuses boots
for Buzby. You could not positively
say that Buzby s hands were small, or
delicate, or decently aristocratic. Very
short in the fingers, and very thick
across the palm and back, Buzby s
hands reminded you of a terrapin s
fin ; they were such peculiar hands.

Buzby s face wasn t handsome. It
may have been *expressive, or intel
lectual, but it was not handsome.
Looking upon his countenance, you
were aware of the presence of a saffron
lump of flesh, with a small projection
in the centre for a nose, a delicate
gash below this projection for a mouth,
and two faint stripes of whity-brown
hair, in the way of eyebrows. His
eyes, looking from beneath the brows,
without the intervention of anything
you might call an eyelid, had a deplo
rable half-cooked appearance, very
much like the visual organs of a salt
mackerel, roasting on the griddle. A
delicate strand of forehead, about half
an inch in width, was agreeably re
lieved by a dense thicket of curly

FITZ-COWLES AT HOME.

135

01 own hair. There were mysterious
rumors about town with regard to this
luxuriant hair. Several of Buzby s
intimates had been observed to smile,
when the ladies complimented him on
his delightful curls ; Pettitoes, the wig
maker, always grew mysterious when
Poodle s head of hair was called in
question, and once but that was on
a drinking party, when Pettitoes in
tellects were muddled he had said,
with a melo-dramatic scowl, that
* there was some people in this ere
world as stuck emselves up mighty
high, and yet wore dead people s
hum he wouldn t say what they
wore but they wore dead people s
hum he could tell what. 9

The general contour of his face was
so singular, and to use a word
which he delighted to repeat on every
occasion so unique, that Coddle St.
Giles, the celebrated miniature painter,
who, having been honored with the
patronage of Queen Victoria, had
painted the whole royal family from
Her Majesty down to the lap-dog;
said, with a painful grimace, that he
had never experienced such extraordi
nary feelings as came over him, when
pourtraying Buzby on costly ivory,
but once before in his life, and that
to use Coddle s delicious cockney dia
lect * wos when the Royal Mena
geries had visited my native town,
and I ad the extr onery Aonor to de
pict the lineaments of the female Hou-
rang-Houtang.

Altogether, Buzby Poodle, Esq.,
was an extraordinary man ; some
thing out of the common run of men ;
a specimen of that high pressure style
t&gt;f editorial genius which the Quaker

City admires and loves, to the bottom
of its universal heart.

"Like that hint about your gold
mines eh, Curnel?" observed Buz-
by, flinging his cloak on a chair, and
seating himself beside the breakfast
table " Nice steak for breakfast.
Quite recherche* as we say in
French. Don t care if I do take a
pull with you. Get me a plate
Dim"

"Why Buzby, this will do; yes
certainly " observed Fitz-Cowles,
stirring his spoon in the coffee, while
he glanced over the pages of the Dai
ly Black Mail -"But what a bad
smell your paper has ! Quite an odor.
The patchoully, Dim. Now get a
plate for Count Common Sewer "

" You are so jocular " exclaimed
Buzby with a pleasant laugh " You
have such a quantity of fun about you !
Count Common Sewer ha, ha,
Good ! You like that on dit, then ?"

" Yes, Buzby, but you must touch
em up to-morrow, about the mysteri
ous stranger at the Ton House ; sup
posed to be the son of an English Earl ;
perhaps a Prince. You know, my
boy ?"

"Don t I!" exclaimed Buzby
taking up Fitz-Cowles s toast be
tween his fingers " It takes me R
pris moi as we say in Domestic
French"

"Now Buzby " exclaimed Fitz-
Cowles, fixing his dark eyes on the
unmeaning face of the Editor, with a
look, that made the little fellow trem
ble in his shoes " You know I pay
you, well, for these little advei tise-
ments. As a matter of course, vou
have some knowledge of my affai ,

13G

THE FORGER.

little knowledge, very little, but you
might use it some day to my injury.
What security have I that you will not

do so ?"

" What security ! Good Heaven s,
Gurnet !" cried Buzby rising from his
chair " Can you suspect me ? This
Is too much " and Poodle s voice
grew quite pathetic " Why Curnel,
to show what are my feelings toward
you, I will now place myself com
pletely in your power "

"As how?"

Buzby made no reply, but striding
with a cautious step, to every door in
the room, he assured himself that they
were fast locked and secured ; and
then with an air of the deepest mys
tery approached Fitz-Cowles, and ga
zed steadily in his face.

" What the d 1 do you mean ?"
exclaimed Fitz-Cowles, as he observed
the boiled mackerel eyes fixed upon
his countenance.

" There, there, I m in your power.
The secret s out. Nobody knows it
but myself and wife. Now you know
it too. You can ruin me if you like "

" What in the d 1 do you mean ?"

" Why, why " exclaimed Buzby
fingering away at his curly hair "/
wear a wig /"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! roared Fitz-
Cowles, as Poodle stood before him,
holding his head of hair in his hand
" Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! Count Common
Sewer you do look like old Jocko, the
Wonderful Ape whom they exhibited
some time ago at the Masonic Hall !
Oh, Jupiter I shall die ! Ha ! Ha !
Ha ! That head that head !"

It was not the most solemn sight
in the world. There stood Buzby,

calm and solemn, his luxuriant head
of hair extended in his right hand,
while the outline of his real head,
clothed with a short, wiry stubble of
real hair, became painfully distinct
in the light of the morning sun.

" And how is this, to place you in
my power ?" asked Fitz-Cowles, aflei
his laughter had subsided to a quiet
chuckle " Oh, Jupiter ! that head !
Buzby, do put on your wig, or you ll
drive me into convulsions "

" How is this to place me in your
power ?" exclaimed Poodle in a half-
offended tone, as he resumed his curly
head of hair " Would I figure so
largely behind the scenes of the Thea
tre, if the ballet girls knew I wore a
wig 1 Curse it, the very supes would
laugh at me, and the scene-shiflers
would not hesitate to jeer me ! Fitz-
Cowles, it may seem foolish to you,
who have no such feelings of a tender
nature, but but my whole existence
is wound up in that head o hair "

"The deuce it is ! Why, Poodle, you
didn t know that it was flung into my
plate last night at Monk-Hall did
you?"

" Was it, though ? Then I must
have been drunk " exclaimed Buzby,
with a look of the deepest mortifica-
tion. "That accounts for the peculiar
sticky state of my hair this morn
ing You think any of the fellows,
noticed it?"

" Too drunk for that, Buzby ! By-
the-bye, you must have had a great
many tender adventures in your time?
Eh, Poodle"

" Hallo, Massa, open dis here
door " the voice of Endymion, who
had been down stairs in search cf a

FITZ-COWLES AT HOM$

137

plate for Buzby, was heard in the en
try Ihabgot de plate for Com
mon Sewer "

In a moment the door was opened,
and Dim entered with a plate and some
additional refreshments ; which hav
ing been placed upon the table, Fitz-
Cowles and Buzby resumed their
breakfast.

" Tender adventures ? " cried Poo
dle, masticating a piece of toast as he
dropped his knife and fork "D ye
see that?"

He drew a small pocket Bible, from
his bosom as he spoke, and displayed
it complacently, before the eyes of the
astonished Fitz-Cowles. It was cor
pulent with letters, inserted between the
leaves, like so many anchovies, be
tween various thin slices of bread-and-
butter.

" This rather goes a-head of the
wig! What may it mean, Buzby?"

" Don t you see, I keep all my love
letters, in the Bible ? Ah, me ! If ]
wasn t married ! Well, well, it can t
be helped! But these letters might
tell a strange tale "

" Let them tell it by all means
observed Fitz-Cowles; and Buzby push
ing his chair back from the table,
and displaying his legs very wide
apart, laid the pocket Bible on one
knee, and commenced a soliloquy
something after the fashion.

" That s from a delightful creature,
Curnel " he observed, turning over
one of the leaves of the Bible, and ex
tracting a letter " She loves me. Of
course, I had to be complaisant. Fain
heart never won fair lady Le c&ur
ennvye ne jamais pas engage la
belle blanche as we say in French
That s from a vocalist that from an

actress and that ah! Curnel there s
a mystery about it !"

"How so?"

" It s from an unknown lady. Pve
tried to find out her name through the
lerks of the Post Office &gt; but in vain.
She s a Southern Planter s daughter,
Curnel. Rich, beautiful, just seven
teen. Offers me her hand don t
know I m booked. Ah me! it would
make the tears come into your eyes
if I was to read this letter ; there, O--
nel, is a lock of her hair "

And Buzby, with a look of subdued
melancholy, slowly unfolded the letter,
and held up in the sunlight a lock of
reddish, brownish hair, which, long
and slender, looked amazingly like a
patent whip lash.

Fitz-Cowles preserved the gravity
of his face with considerable difficulty,
while the Creole, Endymion, who
stood at Poodle s shoulder, placed his
hands alternately to his mouth and
the pit of his stomach, as though he
was suffering under intermitting at
tacks of the cholera and toothache.

Buzby sate in the full light of the
morning sun, holding the lock of hair,
extended in his right hand, while his
other hand absently grasped the pocket
Bible.

"You see she is a noble girl "
he exclaimed, gazing fixedly upon the
lock of hair, with a glance of painful
melancholy " Loves me. Spoke of
my early struggles in her letter.
Asked me if the world hadn t been
hard with me if the iron grasp of
persecution hadn t been on my
shoulder, ever since the days of slips
and pap-spoons if it didn t gall me
considerable to think my genius wasn *
appreciated if "

J38

THE FORGER.

Buzby paused, and with a look of
tender melancholy, jerked the pinkish
lock of hair up and down, as a carter
* cracks his whip.

The action was too much for Fitz-
Cowles. He burst into a roar of laugh
ter, while Dim, the Creole, went rolling
over the floor, holding his hands to
his side, as though he was laboring
under an epileptic fit.

" Curse me if I see any reason for
l.aughing in this manner " exclaimed
Buzby, rising angrily from his seat
" That s a very singular boy of yours,
Curnel. D n him, he lays there
wriggling like a snake "

"Ha! Ha! Ha! This is too
good " roared Fitz-Cowles " Of
course, I had no hand in writing that
letter " he muttered to himself
" Get up, Dim, and behave yourself!"

" Massa, dis quite convulses us
it does he ! he ! he!" exclaimed Dim,
rising to his feet " Massa didn t send
me to the barber, nor nothing, to buy
dat hair?" he chuckled, in a whisper
inaudible to Buzby s ears " Dim
didn t take de letter to de Pos Offis?
De High-Golly !"

" This is quite a tender affair
n est une affaire tendre as we say
in domestic French " exclaimed
Buzby, resuming his seat, with this
sentiment in his peculiarly detestable
French " Ton honor, Curnel it s
a fact. The girl the unknown
loves me devotedly. I should sup
pose that she read my paper. How
d ye feel after the bruise last night?"

" Capital. I intend to have some
fun this morning. You see my Go
vernor hasn t sent me the usual quar
terly remittance. My creditors have
been hunting me down for the last

fortnight. I have been aitacked in th
street, assaulted in the Theatre, be-
seiged in my Hotel. As a last resort.
I appointed a day for each of them to
call and see me ; and even named the
hour. Of course each creditor is ig
norant of the fact, that I have made
the same appointment, with every one
of his fellow blood-suckers. It hap
pens to-day at ten o clock, in the next
room this glorious family party!"

Ha ! Ha ! Ha !" laughed Buzby
Poodle " This beats some insolvent
schedules quite hollow ! I say some
because I ve had a little business in
that line myself. Out of curiosity
mind ye only from curiosity, I have
looked over some of the schedules in
the court, devoted to such interesting
affairs "

" And you discovered something
rich, I s pose ?"

" The old proverb says * a man is
known by the company he keeps
comprenez-vous un homme par ses
compagnons du voyage as we say
in domestic French. Now I m of
the opinion that a man is known by
his insolvent schedule. There s a
schedule filed in the proper court,
under the delicate nose of their Honors,
which says queer things for the char
acter of its signer. One day he went
round town the jolly dog getting
seven coats on credit, mind ye
from seven tailors ; rings from this
jeweller and breast-pins from that;
boots by the quantity, and hats by the
half-dozen ; in short, there was scarce-
ly a store in Chesnut street that he
didn t do; not a credulous merchant
ha, ha, ha ! but was diddled by him,
on this remarkable day "

" Well, well, what was the result ? v

FITZ-COWLES AT HOME,

13*

" One day, like a clock, he went
exclusively * on tick : the next day the
clock stopped going. It was wound up
to some considerable extent. The
creditors look blue. Their friend and
pitcher took the Bankrupt Law /"

" De High-Golly ! By de way dat
chap tells de story, one ud think he
did all dat his ownsef ! Ha hah !"

" Buzby, your paper must make
you some considerable amount of
*T argent? How d ye manage the
&lt; Daily Black Mail ? "

This question appealed to the no
blest sympathies of Poodle s heart. He
rose slowly from his seat, he glanced
round with an expression of conde
scending pride, and his face became
radiant with a sudden enthusiasm.

"How do I manage the * Daily
Black Mail V " he exclaimed, extend
ing his right fin, in the manner of a
stump-orator, who wishes to enrapture
a mass meeting, consisting of a few
dirty boys, one loafer, and two small
dogs " I do it a little in the footpad
line. A big motto at the paper s head
* Fiat justitia? you know the
rest. Do I want the cash ? I stick
in an article charging some \vell-
kno&gt;vn citizen with theft, or seduction,
or some more delightful crime. Citizen
comes down in a rage wants the
article contradicted in next day s
paper. He pays for the contradiction,
of course. I have known a mere on
dit that so-and-so, had committed a
* hideous crime, to bring me in as
much as a cool hundred at a * lick "

" How do you manage to acquire
so much favor with the * sex ? "

"Take the Theatre, for instance.
A new actress appears. Suppose her
virtuous or silly. I make advances.

She foolishly rebels me: ve:y ikely
calls me a puppy. Next day an
on dit appears in * Black Mail, head
ed, * Licentiousness of the stage, and
embracing some compassionate allu
sion to the lady aforesaid. You un
derstand? I damage her reputation
by a paragraphical slur "

" And she capitulates ?"

" Sometimes ; and sometimes she
don t. But I keep up this delightful
fire of genteel insinuations, delicate
allusions, and spicy on dits. If the
girl s character is ruined, it isn t my
fault, I m sure "

" It s quite refreshing to hear you
talk in this way. Are not times pretty
dull with you now ?"

" Oh, Lord, } es ! Hasn t been a
suicide for a week. Not even a mur
der down town, nor a nigger baby
killed. I do wish something lively
would spring up for Christmas now
an * abduction case with the proper
trimmings, would go it with a rush i
Allez avec une furie as we say in
domestic French !"

" How d ye stand with the other
papers ?"

" Guess when I tell you one
slight circumstance. They regard
my paper as a sort of literary galleys,
in which every aspirant for fame, must
serve his time. An author, who has
once been connected with my sheet, is
regarded as a convict all his life, by
the rest of the world newspaporial.
Good phrase that !"

u D ye edit your paper, by your
self!"

" Bless you, no ! I know a trick
worth two o that Je comprend un
artifice double-la as we say in do
mestic French. Whenever I find an

140

THE FORGER.

author vn extreme distress rather
out of pocket, you know? I take
him into my office ; give him a dog s
salary, and make him do a dog s
work."

" Dog s work, indeed ! If he as
sists in getting up your paper !" was
the murmured remark of Fitz-Cowles.

"Should he leave me and they
always do leave me after a month or
so I libel him on every occasion,
and talk about ingratitude ha, ha,
ha ! But the poor devil, can never get
rid of the crime of having been con
nected with my paper ! That sticks
to him, like original sin to a Puri
tan !"

" Well, Buzby, you have given me
some fresh ideas about newspapers "
observed Fitz-Cowles " I thought I
knew them like a book ! You have
given me a new wrinkle !"

He said this and gazed silently into
the saffron face of Buzby Poodle.

Oh, glorious Liberty of the Press,
lei us take the opportunity afforded by
this quiet moment, and chaunt a psalm
in your praise ! Oh, glorious Press,
what a comfort it must be to you, to
think and feel in your inmost heart,
that Buzby Poodle who sits smiling in
yonder chair, is no reality, no fact ;
but a mere fictitious impersonation of
all the evils, which spring around your
life, and darken your existence !

Oh, magnificent Quaker City, with
your warehouses, and your Churches,
your Theatres and your Brothels,
your Banks and your Insane Hospitals,
your Loan Companies and your Alms
Houses, how delightful to all your de
nizens, must be the reflection that
Buzby Poodle s no living nuisance,

but an airy, though loathsome creation
of the author s brain !

Nursed from his very infancy in th
purlieus of the dance-house ; an asso
ciate of the ruffian and the courtezan,
from his earliest childhood ; crawling
from the pages of his foul journal,
over the fairest reputations in the com-
munity ; sneering at the character of
this man s virtuous wife ; blasting
with his leprous pen, that man s stain
less child ; in his person and soul, one
hideous blot and breathing deformity ;
an ulcer cankering over the bosom
of society ; a bravo who stabs for his
dollar ; a hireling who without cha
racter, without reputation, without even
a name, prowls abroad, selling his
sheet, to any man that will buy it, for
any purpose under heaven ; a tolera
ted infamy ; an uncaged jail-bird an

unconvicted felon oh, Glorious,

Quaker City, does it not make your
moral heart grow warm, when you
remember that a creature, despica
ble as this, has no existence in fact,
but is only a fancy of the author, a
fiction of his brain !

Other cities may have their abo
minations in the shape of a licentious
press, with marketable Editors, who
have in their time, pursued every ho
nest occupation, from body-snatching
up to newspaper publishing ; but the
Quaker City, like the Ideal town of
some far-off El Dorado, is so pure, so
spotless, that an Author in search of
a cut-throat Editor, by the portraiture
of whose character, he means to throw
a dark relief around the brighter por
tions of his pages, must set his wits to
work, and invent, a Buzby Poodle /

Oh, rare invention Buzby Poodle
long may it be, ere a thing like you

FITZ-COWLES AT HOME.

141

nhall start into tangible existence, and
all be-wigged and sickle-legged, walk
visibly along Chesnut Street ; a dimi
nutive incarnation of a most nauseous
emetic.

Go to the door, Dim ! There s the
first of the Creditors ! Be quiet, Poo
dle and enjoy the fun "

" Yes Massa, I opens the door "
cried Endymion as the hoarse voice of
Creditor One, was heard in the next
room.

"Tell Col. Fitz-Cowles, that Mr.
Bluffly Bulk want s to see him."

And as the hoarse voice echoed
through the aperture, Mr. Bluffly Bulk,
appeared in the doorway, driving an
immense paunch before him, as he
walked along. His small head over
looked his immense corporation, like a
pea observing the circumference of a
pumpkin.

"Well, Fitz-Cowles" said Mr.
Bulk " I ve called according to ap
pointment. You owe me a fee in the
case of Commonwealth vs. Fitz-
Cowles charge, lathering a watch
man. The fee is fifty. Pay it, and
let me go "

" Do me the kindness to step this
way " exclaimed Fitz-Cowles with
one of his best bows as he motioned
Creditor One, toward the small door,
opposite " In a moment I ll see you ;
And settle this little matter."

Bluffly Bulk Esq., disappeared within
the eastern door, muttering strange
curses as he walked along.

"Dar goes ten o Cloc Massa "
exclaimed Dim listening at the key
hole of the western door " De High-
Golly ! I hear more of em in the nex
room "

" Show era in Dim ! One at a
time ! Ha ! Whom have we here ! My
friend Smith John Smith the Uphol
ster"

A little thin man, with a narrow
face, a starved nose, and a green over
coat, advanced and seized Fitz-Cowles
earnestly by the hand.

"Note to pay to day Sir " he
said in a thrilling whisper " Bill for
the curtains, you got of me, when you
was at the United States Hotel Six
hundred and fifty two dollars, twelve
and a half cents. Tight times Sir.
Money very scarce shall I give you
a receipt Sir ? "

" In the next room if you please "
observed Fitz-Cowles with a pleasant
smile " You see my old fellow, we ll
fix that matter in a minute "

" Bress your eyes, Massa, dey are
a-growlin like cat-an dog in toder
room !" observed Dim holding the
door slightly open "I bear s em a-
comin up de stairs ; and I hear s de
sarvant a-showin em into the next
room "

" This grows quite refreshing ! Al
most equal to a Schedule at the Insol
vent Court!"

" Is Misther Fitz-Cow-fcot01es, in the
house himself, jest ? Be aisy thare ye
nager, and let me come in. Dhrop a
word into his private ear, that Michael
O Flannagan, French Boot Maker
from Paris, is a wantin to get the
taste ov a sight ov him "

And a large boned man, attired in
a shabby white great coat, with an old
fur cap drawn over his eyes, came
rushing into the room. He stood full
six feet in his stockings ; and his red
face, seen through the apertures of hi*
hair and whiskers, all of the sam*

142

THE FORGER.

burning red, looked very much like
/he countenance of a man who won
stand upon trifles ; or occupy his time
in breaking the hind legs of a flea.

"Oh the blazes ! But them six
teen pair of stairs give me a pain in
the side ; the top o th marnin to ye
Colonel its yerself that s lookin
like a canary bird the-day. Shall we
fingher the pewther Curnel ? Cin-
shider the seventeen pair o boots, all
done and complated by Michael O Flan
nagan, French Boot Maker, from the
Cityo Pari-i-s,in theouldCounthry "

" He s got the real Parisian accent!"
exclaimed Buzby Poodle " Talks
like a native. Quite aufait /"

" The accshent ? And who the
divil should have the accshent, but me?
Wasn t I brot up all my life, a gini
wine Frenchman, and didn t my fa
ther fight with ould Boney, in the
scrimmage of Watherloo?"

" You speak it like a native Mikey.
This way ; I ll talk to you in minute.
Show em in, Dim."

" Mistaw Douzzle, de toder Boot
Maker from Paris !"

A mouldy looking man, of short
stature, and a heavy face, invested by
a dampish beard of some indefinable
color, was now shown into the room,
with his arms hanging straight by his
sides, like pendulums to some walking
clock.

" Curnel, I ish in want fery mosh
ov dat small bill for de French Boots.
Times is hardt ; mine wife is sick, and
von childt has got de measles. Eight
pair of fine French Boots seven dol
lars a-pair seven eight ish fordy-
eight "

" Next room Douzzle. See you in
a minute. Keep on sho win em in Dim!"

"I ave the Aonour, to present mv
small bill " exclaimed a little man
in a Cockney face, and bcown sack
coat " To one portrait of Col. Fitz-
Cowles, fifty dollars. Very much in
want of money, to day Sir. Obliged
to you for a little. Never since I ad
the extron ery Aonor, to paint Her
Royal Majesty Victoria, and Prince
//albert with the ouses o Parliament
and the lap-dog in the background,
never since that ere blessed moment,
ave I taken so much pains with a mi-
ni ture as with yours ! Out of wood
sir out of coal sir out of ivory,
Sir"

"Not out of brass I hope? Ha!
Ha ! Ha ! There I had you St. Giles !
Walk into the next room if you please!
Pass em this way, Dim !"

And Dim did pass them that way to
some considerable extent. It should
be borne in mind, that Col. Fitz-Cowles
had been living for some time past in
a style of princely splendor, kept up
and supported by a numerous retinue
of credulous tradesmen. The results
of this princely style, now manifested
hemselves in the shape of som^ four-
and-thirty creditors, who came pour-
ng from the ante-room, one after ano-
her, in quick succession, with their
Dills in hand, and their demands ring-
ng loudly on the air, like a delightful
chorus to the grand drama of the
Bankrupt law.

" A small bill for horse hire. To a
haise and four " began a little thick
set man, with browh whiskers, and a
short bang-up, smelling strongly of
he race-course " To a chaise and
bur, seventeen times "

" My little bill for ten coats, fifteen
?air of pants fourteen vests and a

JblTZ-COWLES AND HIS CREDITORS,

143

dickey " interrupted a solemn look-
ing-personage pressing hurriedly for
ward "Firm of Flunk, Checkley
and Co. Five hundred and fifty dol "

" I ave furnish you with parfumerie,
to dis amount "

" Seventy one pair of gloves. White
kid. Hoskin s "

" To the use of my cab, Gineral
Washington won-hunder and fafly
times "

" To, the * Genelman s Universal
Wardrobe, an Furnishin store, Col.
Fitz-Cowle s, Debtor Sixteen fine
shirts and "

"My bill for Dry Goods, sir "
said a pompous man, with a snub nose
and immense ragged whiskers
"McWhiley Murnshell, sir. Two
hundred and six "

" Pothecary s bill for med cine.
Seven bottles Swain s Panacea "

" Ha ha ! This beats the Insol
vent Court ! What a scene for the
next Black Mail !"

" De High-Golly ! Dey come wid
a parfac looseness, dis time !"

" Gentlemen, gentle-men " ex
claimed Fitz-Cowles, looking from
face to face with a pleasant smile
"You are really too impatient. To
see you rushing forward in this style,
one would think T had the wealth of
Girard in my pockets. Step into the
next room, gentlemen. All your de
mands shall be satisfied "

A murmur of satisfaction burst from
the contrasted throng, and in an instant
they had all disappeared into the next
room.

" Now, Buzby, let s wait a few

minutes, until they begin to grow

feverish. When I think they ve work

ed themselves up into the proper hu

mor, we ll step in, and take a look at
them. I M show you how to bluff off
a creditor "

" I thought I was rather au fait at
that business myself. However &lt;wi-
t er noos as we say in domestic
French "*

CHAPTER SECOND.

FITZ-COWLES AND HIS CREDITORS.

Iff a large saloon, furnished in a
style of magnificence,popularly known
as the gingerbread style, with im
mense red silk curtains along the
windows, scattered patches of gilt,
glittering around the cornices, and a
jolossal mirror above the mantle, sate
he four-and-thirty creditors, waiting
for the appearance of the millionaire.

The softened light which came
through the drawn curtains, gave a
mild and shadowy effect to the figures
of the patient band, while it was quite
delightful to witness the animated ex
pression of their countenances, as
gazing into each others eyes, they
seemed to wonder why in the deuce
they were all penned up there together,
like various kinds of cattle at an
Agricultural fair.

Bluffly Bulk, Esq., the fat lawyer sat
glaring upon the little bootmaker,
Douzzle, as though he was wonder i lg
what kind of a -fry the fellow would
make for his breakfast; Michael
O Flannagan, the Parisian bootmaker,

* The author does not hold himself respcn-
sible for Mr. Buzby Poodle s violent assatlfc
on Louis Phillipe s French.

144

THE FORGER.

was engaged in polishing his shoes on
the handsome hearth-rug ; oddle St.
Giles, gazed vacantly around with the
look of a man who has been feloniously
decoyed into a den of thieves, while
the rest of the four-and-thirty creditors
were occupied in examining their
various bills, which they raised fre
quently in the light ; and crushed be
tween their fingers, as though the
. action was productive of great peace
of mind and tranquility of spirit.

A buz-buz of satisfaction, resounded
through the saloon.

Col. Fitz-Cowles appeared in the
doorway with Buzby Poodle, and En-
dymion at his back.

" Gentlemen " said the Colonel,
placing one hand between his back
and his flashy morning-robe, while he
waved the other gently up and down
" I owe you money "

" That you do " muttered Bluff
ly Bulk, Esq., stamping his cane on
the floor ; and a buz-buz from the four-
and-thirty creditors, confirmed the
truth of the sentiment. It was quite
pleasing to see how much unanimity
of feeling existed on this point. Had
there been only half the concurrence
of opinion, visible in the doings of most
of our religious conventions, synods
and conferences, the world would have
been Christianized long ago.

" I owe you money and I mean to
? ay it "

" He manes to pay it ! Hurra !
Three times, hur-rah.!"
| " I mean to make your fortunes. I
*hould suppose you all want money
rather bad ?"

"Deuced bad." "Cursed bad."
Oth, don t I?" " Wife and children
- - one sick with the measles." " Star

vation." " Go to jail." " Out of
wood, out of coal, out f ivory."

" If I don t pay you this morning I
suppose it will ruin you all ?"

"Totally." "Have to leave the
city." " Can t think on t." " Horri
ble." " Och whillaloo !" " Ruin me,
root and branch !"

"Well, then, gentlemen, I will
make your fortunes. You have a
pleasing countenance, my friend Bluff
ly Bulk, a respectable person. You
shall oversee the hands. Yes, yes.
That ill just suit you. Mister Flan-
nagan, imagine yourself perched on
the edge of a well, some hundred
fathoms deep, telling the laborers be
low to mind their eyes and be d d
to em. * Hoist away my hearties
d ye take? Coddle St. Giles, your
remarkable talents will here be called
into requisition. You can take draw-
ngs of the mines publish em when
we all get back splendid volume
letter press by Sylvester J. Petriken,
of the Western Hem. Flunk, my dear
friend Flunk, of the firm of Flunk,
Checkley & Co., Merchant Tailors,
you can make up a lot of clothes for
the miners ! Gad gents, I like the
plan altogether ; it will suit our various
talents. It will make our fortunes "

" Gintlemen, me name is Mikey
O Flannagan, Bootmaker, from Par-
ris, and me father fought with ould
Boney, and so ye see there s some
arnin in our family, but may the
divil fly away wid me, if I can make
out what the Curnel manes By
Julias Caysar, but we re all a-listenin
to a gintleman from the Insane Hoz-
pittal !"

" What in the d 1 do you mean ?"
xclaimed Blufl3y Bulk, growing like

FITZ-COWLES AND HIS CREDITORS.

145

a turkey-cock in the face as he fixed
his eyes upon Fitz-Cowles, who stood
in the centre of the saloon, in an
attitude of dee t t abstraction " Be so
kind as to explain yourself!"

"Yes the plan is feasible " ex
claimed Colonel Fitz-Cowles elevating
his eyebrows with an absent stare
" But there s a rough desert to pass
through before we reach the mines.
Plenty of Mexicans and Texans
not to mention the Indians and wild
beasts. Still the mines are productive :
on my father s estate you know ? I m
incog: just now, but when the Com
pany is in full operation, under the
combined patronage of Santa Anna
the Mexican government, and Sam
Houston, I ll make known the old man s
name "

Sir " cried Bluffly Bulk in a
voice of thunder " Will you tell us
what you mean ?"

" Arrah, man, and be quick at it !"
" Oblige us with some slight know-
ledge"

" Guess he wants a straight-jacket/
" Tell you what I mean T exclaim
ed Fitz-Cowles, starting from his re
verie " With pleasure. You see
gentlemen, L-propfise to make your
fortunes, by allowing you to enter
your names, as stockholders of the
Grand Montezuma Gold-Mining Com
pany of the gold mines of Huancate-
papetel, district of Tolpcaptl, South
Mexico Algernon Fitz-Cowles, Pre
sident, Bluffly Bulk, Secretary, Board
of Directors as follows you can fill
up the blank at your leisure you know?
[ will allow you, each to take ten shares
of the capital stock at $100 per share ;
and we will say nothing about the small
turns I owe you. Mere trifles you

know. Bluffly, in consideration of
the post of Secretary, being tendered
you, one hundred shares, will be the
smallest number, you can be permit,
ted to take "

Fitz-Cowles paused, and looked
around to note the effects of his im
portant proposition. There was a dead
silence in the Saloon. You might have
heard a pin drop. The four and thir
ty Creditors, looked into one another s
faces, but said nothing. Buzby Poo
dle and Dim the Creole, concealed
themselves among the window cur
tains, which quivered and shook, as
with a sudden convulsion,

" Gentlemen d ye like my propo
sition?" said Fitz-Cowles blandly
" Is it feasible ? We can all go to
Huancatapepetel together; times are
50 hard in this city. Those that are
married can take their families with
them ; those that are single, will get
families soon enough on their arrival
at the mines. You are silent it is
with surprise I suppose ? Or d ye
want to advance some small amount
on your shares? No gentlemen. I
can t think of that ! The trifles I owe
you one and all, will more than pay,
for your shares "

" Well, may I be rammed inta a
shot gun, and fired off* at a nigger riot,
if this is n t the coolest thing I ve
heard of for some time !" and as he
spoke the fat lawyer started from his
feet, and confronted Fitz-Cowles
" Zounds Sir, what do you take me
for ?"

"A fine fat old gentleman " re-
plied Fitz-Cowles bowing " Who
would make a Capital Superintendent
of the mines. By Jupiter ! Bluffly,
that person of yours carries respec-

146

THE FORGER.

lability in its every outline. It is worth
at least a-thousand shares to the com-
pany-"

The storm, long-gathering and silent
in its growth, burst suddenly over the
head of Fitz-Cowles. One and all the
four and thirty Creditors rose, one and
all they poured forth their anger in
broken words and bitter curses.

" J s the villian ! " " The scoun-
drel " "Swindler" "This is
wot I gits for his mini tur ! " " I m
paid for the fifteen coats and
" Here s the cash for my gloves !"
"Tish is damdt pat my wife sick
and de shildren got de measles "
" Hurrah ! Lets whack into im !"

" This beats an Insolvent Schedule
all hollow !" laughed Buzby Poodle,
peeping out from behind the curtains
" &lt; Gad ! what a scene for the Black
Mail ! Four and thirty Creditors, of
all shapes, sizes and patterns, sur
rounding Fitz-Cowles, who greets em
with a commisserating smile ! Ha
ha! Capital;"

De High-Golly !" shouted Dim
thrusting his head from the other cur
tain " Dey look as if dey eat Massa up
widout any pepper or salt !"

" Gentlemen will you hear me !"
shouted Fitz-Cowles in a voice of thun
der, as he gazed upon the four and
thirty threatening faces " Will you
or will you not ? Am I to be insulted
in my own house? Dim go and call
the servants, and have these fellows
trundled down stairs "

" Well Sir, what do you propose ?"
cried Bluffly Bulk, his voice rising
above the tumult " No more hum
bug Sir "

" You then reject my offer, made
with the best feelings in the world, to

combine you, one and all, into the
Grand Montezuma Gold-Mining Com
pany of the Huancatepapetel "

" Huancatty-kettle-polly be d d! M
shouted Flunk the tailor pressing
forward, as he shook his clenched
hand in the air.

" Pitch Gwan-goett-polly to the
divil !" screamed O Flannagan the
Boot Maker.

" Just as you like Gentlemen. Pitch
Huancatepapetel to the devil, by all
means. But I was about to observe
that the various sums, which I owe you
separately, taken in the lump, amount
to something over three thousand dol
lars. You are interested. Well now,
my fellows here s the difficulty. I ve
but a thousand dollars, cash in my
possession. You can divide it among
you, if you like "

" Now you, talk " observed Bluff
ly Bulk, with a pleasing smile as
though the previous remarks of Fitz-
Cowles had not risen even to the dig
nity of talk " Of course my little
fee of fifty dollars, will be satisfied out
of this sum, in precedence to all other
claims "

" Av course me little bill of thirty
sivin dollars, sixty cents " observed
Mr. Flannagan, stepping briskly for
ward, as he thrust his hands, deep into
the vacuum of his great coat pockets
" Will take the prisidence of your thri-
fling claims "

" Of course, Curnel, rny bill of two
hundred and fifty, for Dry Goods "
mildly exclaimed McWhiley Mum-
shell, pulling his ragged whiskers,
with a hand, all glittering with costly
rings " My little bill will be consi
dered, first of all "

" And is it the likes of ye, to stand

F1TZ-COWLES AND HIS CREDITORS.

afore me ? The divil dhrag me under
a harrow, but ould rat-face, ye ve a dale
of impedencein them same whiskers."

"Curnel,don t forgit the min itur "
" Nor the horse-hire " " Remember
the gloves " " Ishn t I to be paidt
for my poots ?" " De parfumcrie Mon
sieur Viz-Cowle " " Jist stand
back there, will ye " "Devil take
your impudence Pm as good as
you " " Say that again " " Youre
another " "My bill, Curnel "
" Mine I say " " Wife and five chil
dren, won sick wid de measles "

" Gentlemen do be calm " cried
Fitz-Cowles as he viewed the gather
ing storm " Remember gentlemen,
that you are gentlemen. Be calm
Flannagan Quiet yourself Bluffly
Soothe your excited feelings Mum-
shell"

" Will you settle my bill " shriek
ed Bluffly Bulk, red in the face with
inger " Yes or no !"

"Botherashin! Stand back auld por-
pise and let me give him a receipt
Or is it a row ye ve a-wantin "

"D d Irishman" grated Bluffly
between his teeth.

" D d Irishman, am I ? And me a
Paryshian barn t For the sake of my
ould man,who was an Irishman,and who
fit wid Boney at Watherloo take that."

And with his clenched hand, he
aimed a blow, full at the immense cor
poration of the fat lawyer. The blow
brushed Mumshell s whiskers and took
effect on the person of the lawyer.
The effect was terrific. In an instant
the four and thirty Creditors, their bills
m hand, were all mingled through
each other, every man striking the
man who stood next to him, without
regard to consequences, while Bluffly

and Flannagan, went at it, tooth and
nail, exchanging fisticuffs with remark
able good will.

The scene was peculiar. A forest
of fists, rising up and down, a mass
of angry faces, all mingled together,
some four and thirty bodies of all
sizes and descriptions, twisting and
winding about, with so much rapidity,
that they all looked like the different
limbs of some strange monster, un
dergoing a violent epipletic fit.

" Gentlemen do be calm "

" Go your death Allez-vous noire
mort f" as we say in domestic French
"Hit em again ! frappez duexfois!
That s it! Give him another!
donnez lui un autre /"

" You scoundrel I ll prosecute
you for damages "

"Damages, you ould porpise
then by my father s soul, I ll damage
you a thrifle more !"

" This is shameful ! Show me the
man who struck me in the eye "

" Bi Gott ! I vill murder somebodys
tirectly---"

" Let me up ! It wasn t me that
struck you !"

" I ll take the wo th of my glove*
out o somebody "

" Oh my A-cye ! Erc s a purty
minature for you !"

" Oh ! whililoo ! Any one here
that ll say I wasn t a Paryshien bornt
Fight it out boys lather it into one
another ! Whoop ! Say that black
mark under yer eye isn t a bit o patch
work will ye 1 Jest say it ! Come
on six ov ye I ain t pertikler which!
Hurrah ! There goes the lookin
glass ! Crack smash bang ! Thry
it agin ---ould porpise! This bates
Watherloo hurray, hurray !"

148

THE FORGER.

CHAPTER THIRD.

THE DEATH WARRANT.

THE mirror, which hung above the
dressing bureau, reflected the hand
some form of Col. Fitz-Cowles. J
must be confessed that the Colone
looked decidedly interesting, as stand
ing before the mirror, in the glare o
the morning sun, he surveyed his forrr
for the last time, ere he sallied forth
on Chesnut street. His figure, with
its broad chest and tapering waist
was enveloped in a close-fitting over
coat of dark cloth, which, falling open
along the breast, disclosed his black
scarf, gathered over his shirt front with
a plain gold pin, and tastefully dis
posed within the collar of his glossy
coat and satin vest, whose jet black
hues were in harmony with the other
portions of his attire.

The dark visage of the Colonel,
relieved by long curling locks of jet-
black hair, was surmounted by an
elegant hat, remarkable for its conical
crown and width of brim. This was
the much admired and very aristocra
tic l Fitz-Cowles hat, worn by all the
distinguished bloods of the Quaker
City. Introduced by the gallant Colo
nel, it soon became the rage, and was
at the time of which we write, the
standing test of fashion and elegance
among the exquisites of Chesnut street.
" Dim " said the Colonel, gently
waving the gold-headed cane, which
he held within the white-kid glove of
his right hand " Are they all gone?
11 All turned out, Massa. De sar-
^ants tumble em down stairs more an
half- hour ago"

Dim " continued the Colonel,
impregnating his snow-white hand

kerchief with an additional scent
of patclwully* "What s the d;mi
age?"

" De looking-glass hove de mantel
broke in tousan pieces one ob de
winder curtains torn down. De berry
debbil kicked up all ober de room "
" Buzby " resumed the Colonel,
passing a comb lightly through the
locks of his jet-black hair " How did
you like it?"

" Quite recherche . But won t they
sue you for their various debts ?"

" Let them sue and be hanged !
The amount I owe them, applied in
the proper way, would command a
great influence in Court. Why rrnm"
[ ve got the price of seven judges, ten
uries and some score of lawyers, in
my pocket. These things are all for
sale"

"Ha! ha! This is libellous ! Hello!
There s a knock at the door "
" See who it is, Dim "
Dim opened the door at the extreme
end of the bed-chamber. He gazed
or an instant through the aperture,
and then closing the door with a sud
den movement, he came running to
lis Master s side, his eyes dilating
vith surprise and his tawny face, pale
is Fitz-Cowles s white kid gloves.

" What in the deuce, is the matter
Dim ?"

" Oh, Golly Massa ! Oh Lor ! Oh
e debbil !" cried the Creole, dancing
bout the room.

" Shall I knock you down with the
hair you scoundrel ? Or would you

* A perfume, once the rage among th*
shionables of our city. To the uninitiated
smells like a composition of Musk, cast-
iron filings and bad rain water

THE DEATH WARRANT.

like to be held oui of a fourth-story
window, by the heels, again ?"

Dim approached his master s side,
and whispered in his ear.

The Colonel s face grew suddenly
pale, and a blasphemous oath escaped
from his lips.

" Buzby, go into the next room "
he cried harshly, with the same tone,
he would use, in getting rid of a trou
blesome dog ** Be quick. I have a
visiter, whom I must see alone. Why
do you stand there, staring in my face
like an idiot 1 Begone I say I
must be alone "

Buzby Poodle, disappeared through
the Saloon door, with a look of ma
lignant anger, that boded no good to
his friend, Colonel Fitz-Cowles.

" Open the door. D ye hear Dim?"
shouted the Colonel, as his face grew
paler, and his dark eye, emitted a
clear flashing glance, that betokened
powerful though suppressed emotion.
u Show our visiter in "

Dim opened the door, at the end of
the bed-chamber, farthest from the win
dows, and the visiter entered. It must
foe confessed that the surprise which
the mere utterance of his name occa
sioned, might be easily explained, when
tfie singular appearance of the new
comer, was taken into consideration.

A short, thickset, little man, dress
ed in a suit of glossy black cloth, ad
vanced from the open door. His face,
which from its remarkable length,
gave you the idea of a horse s head,
affixed to the remnant of a human bo-
V dy, seemed to lay upon his heart,
while his shoulders arose on either
side, as high as his ears, and his back
protruding in a shapeless hump, was
visible above the outline of his head.

His face, it is true, from its ex
treme length, and the peculiar manner,
in which it seemed to lay on his breast,
might have appeared distorted and de
formed, yet were the features perfectly
regular, the nose a decided aquiline,
the mouth well-proportioned and indi
cative of firmness, the chin, full and
round, while the high forehead, with
the dark eyebrows, over-arched two
large and brilliant eyes, whose intense
lustre beaming from a face, marked
by a clear, healthy complexion, gave
the beholder the idea, that he beheld a
supernatural, rather than a human
being.

Should the latter portion of this des
cription, appear overstrained, the rea
der will remember, that the diminutive
stature of the strange visiter, the hump
on his back, and the manner in which
his face, seemed to rest on his chest,
all gave additional effect to the ex
pression of his face and eyes. l Jcw\
was written on his face as clearly and
distinctly as though he had fallen
asleep at the building of the Temple
at Jerusalem, in the days of Solomon,
the rake and moralist ; and after a
nap of three thousand years, had
waked up in the Quaker City, in a
state of perfect and Hebraic preserva
tion.

"You are, here, are you?" whis
pered Fitz-Cowles in a tone of ungo
vernable rage " Why is this ? Why
leave your hiding place in broad day
light?"

" Pave comsh bekos I vanted to
comsh " said the Jew, calmly, as
he folded his hands across his breast,

" You have, have you ?" whispered
Fitz-Cowles, as the gleam of rage,
brightened in his dark eyes Do

150

THE FORGER.

you know you dog, you miserable
-Jog that I ve a great notion to give
you a taste of this "

And as he spoke, quick as thought,
he flung open the breast of his over
coat, and drawing the Bowie knife,
from a secret pocket, he brandished it
above the head of the Jew, with a look
of ungovernable hatred.

" Puts away te carving-knifes Puts
away te carving-knifes " said the
humpback, with a bitter, though
scarcely perceptable sneer "You
vill not hurts noboty."

" Perhaps you will tell me, why you
have left your hiding place ! In broad
day, with all the police at your heels ?
Ha ! Ha ! This is delightful ! Curse
that Devil-Bug " he muttered as he
strode to the window " How could
he have let this dog escape?"

" I tells you vy Pave left dat nash-
ty plashe " said the Hebrew in the
coolest manner imaginable " Bekos
it vos a nashty plashe ! Bekos dese
leetle hand do all te vorks andt maybe
after all, you reaps te profit. I mosh
hide in dat hole viles you valksh
Cheshnut Streets ? Vos dat de kon-
traksh ? You keep your pargain, vill
yous ?"

" And what was that bargain ?" ex
claimed Fitz-Cowles again facing the
Jew.

" Ven te tings vos done, you vos to
gif me ten tousand tollars in goldt. I
vos to sail for Europes. Vot have
you done? Left me to rots among
roppers and tiefs, viles you walksh
Cheshnut Streets ! Got-tam !"

The Jew sate down, or rather fixed
himself on the sofa, and looked up
calmly into the flushed countenance
of Fitz-Cowles.

" Well, well, Von Gelt, lets shake
hands, and talk the mattter over

" We may talksh as mosh as we
pleashes, but we tont shake handts "

" Just as you like. Well, Judos
is that your first name Von GeCt ?*

" Supposh it vos my naturs ? Von-
der how long afore the handsome
Curnels would be Father Moses
I know veres "

" So you threaten, me, do you Ga
briel ? Ha !-ha ! This is amusing.
May I ask what you propose to do ?"

" To morrow mornings I vill takf
te carsh for New Yorksh. Nex tay
I vill sail for Europes. To tay, you
will gif me, ten tousandt tollars "

" But Judas that is Gabriel Ju
das for short, you know ? You must
remember that I have not ten thousand
dollars in my possession "

"Veres is te ole hair trunksh?"

"But Gabriel" exclaimed Fitz-
Cowles in a conciliating tone, as he
seated himself, beside the table opposite
the Jew " But Gabriel you know,
that it is impossible for us to have this
money, for months to come. The sov-
reigns and the notes, might be recog
nized at once. It is better to wait a
little while and make sure of the whole
sum beyond a chance of detection.
Pen and ink, Dim."

" Meanviles te poleesh ranshack
Monks-halls, andt fint me, hit avay
among tiefs and roppers. No No!
I vill bear tish no longers. Tish tay
I mosh ave ten tousandt tollars, or
or"

Or or" echoed Fitz-Cowles
as he scrawled a few words 011 a sheet
of gilt-edged note paper " Or of
You was about to observe "

" May be I can git ten tousandt tol-

THE DEATH WARRANT.

151

ars, someveres else " said the Jew
with a meaning look.

" Ah ha ! You grow humorous,
Gabriel " observed Fitz-Cowles with
a smile " Please deliver this little
note to Devil-Bug if you should
chance to see him again, before you
start for Europe. Will you Gabby ?"

"Ha! vot is tish!" exclaimed the
hump-backed Jew, as his eye glanced
over the note, which read as follows :

Devil-Bug Our friend leaves us to
morrow. It is all right. Aid him as far
as you can, in anything that concerns his
departure. THE ABBOT.

" Den you conshents ?" exclaimed
Gabriel, with a smile of triumph
" You vill gif me te monish ?"

" Of course, of course. You know
I would never refuse you anything,
Gabriel. You must be careful though,
Gabriel, with the money. Mighty
careful"

" Vot a fool I vos, ever to part mit
it !" muttered Gabriel " I hadt it all
in mine own handts won time "

" Excuse me one moment, Gabriel,
while I write a note to my jeweller M
said Fitz-Cowles, with a pleasant
smile. " Here, Dim take this ring
and this note down to Melchoir, the
Jeweller, in Fourth street near Ches-
nut. Hurry back, d ye hear ?"

As he seized the note and folded it,
Fitz-Cowles gazed smilingly in the
face of the Hebrew. But when he
took the diamond ring from his finger,
and handed it to Dim, with one quick
flashing glance of his dark eyes, the
smile deepened into an agreeable
laugh, and Fitz-Cowles looked, for all
.the world, like a man whose mind is
unburdened by a single care. Ard

this, while his life and .brtune hung
upon the note which he handed to the
Creole !

" Dim you understand ? This
ring and note are for the Jeweller in
Fourth below Chesnut?"

"Yes, Massa " answered Dim.
with a stolid and imperturable expres
sion of countenance. "I ll be back
d rectly."

That note was the Death Warrant V
of the Jew.

Thus it read :

Devil-Bug When the Jew comes
back to Monk-hall he will have about his
person ten thousand dollars. You can
pay yourself for the care and trouble you
have had with him. The ring will tell
you what I mean. THE ABBOT.

" Now, Gabby " exclaimed Fitz-
Cowles, as Dim hastened from the
room " You can amuse yourself by
looking out of the window, while I get
you the money."

As the handsome Algernon, stoop-
ng to the floor, drew the hair trunk
from beneath the sofa, Gabriel, the
Jew, rose from his seat and advanced
toward the window.

" Dere s noting like improvin vons
:imes " he muttered, as he seized an
object, which lay exposed on the top
of the dressing bureau. " Father
Moses ! He vill swear ven he mis-
shes dis ting "

" Ten notes of a thousand dollars
?ach " murmured Fitz-Cowles, lock-
ng the trunk again " Much good
will they do him ! Devil-Bug is such
an amiable man !"

"Now I vill pegone !" exclaimed

abriel, hastily concealing the notes
within the breast of his overcoat,

152

THE FORGER.

" Dish countries is too hot to holdt
me."

Fie strode to the door, and looked
back at Fitz-Cowles, as he uttered
this pleasant good-bye.

" Farewells ! Ven ve meetsh agin
may ve pe in betterish spiritsh
Goot byesh !"

He disappeared, and in a moment
was heard passing hurriedly along the
entry, without the bedchamber.

"Go!" shrieked Fitz-Cowles, the
mocnent he had dissappeared " Go,
and to your DEATH !"

He paced hurriedly along the room,
his brow darkening over with a heavy
frown, and his eye blazing with ex
citement.

" Ha ! The door leading into the
saloon is ajar could anyone have
listened to our conversation?" he
pushed the door open and glanced
around the spacious apartment as he
spoke " Ha, ha ! There is no one
in this room ! What a fool I am to
fancy a listener near. And yet that
fellow, Buzby but he s too cowardly
to betray a man. He might muster
courage to betray a lame nigger
woman, or a sick rag picker but a
man never!"

He closed the door, leading into the
saloon, as he spoke.

And as the door was closed, the
form of a man stole softly from the
folds of the silken window curtains,
and Buzby Poodle stood disclosed in
the light. His face was very pale,
and his hands trembled like pendulums,
very much out of order.

" Here s a secret worth a for
tune " he exclaimed, as he passed
through the saloon door, into the wind
ing entry of the fourth story " Be

tray a rag picker, indeed ! Ho ! ho 1
What if I betray a forger?"

Meanwhile Fitz-Cowles strode swift
ly along the floor of his bedchamoer,
his face and manner, betraying the
wild excitement which possessed his
soul.

" If I manage my cards right I am
safe! Ha! ha! That Jew got up
some very neat letters from my father
the Earl of Lyneswold, Lincon-
shire, England! To give the d 1
his due, the Jew managed these letters
with a masterly hand. English post
marks and all! I showed them to
Dora, together with a parchment con
taining our pedigree the Lyndes-
wolds of Lyndeswold ! I have used
the Jew, and now egad ! he must
retire from the scene! Ry next
Monday morning I can arrange every
thing ! And then, as from the decks
of a steamer bound for England, I
gaze upon the receding shores of
America, while Dora smiles in my
face, and the cash rattles in my pocket,
then ha, ha, ha! how I shall
laugh at these fools of the Quaker
City !"

CHAPTER FOURTH.

DORA LIVINGSTONE AT

THE boudoir was lighted by two
long and narrow windows looking to
the south. The morning sunshine
shone mildly round the place, through
the folds of the thick curtains of light
silk, which hung drooping along the
windows.

In shape, the room was sexagonal,

DORA LIVINGSTONE AT HOME.

with pedestals of dark marble, stand
ing along four of the six walls. On
ihe top of one pedestal stood an ala
baster vase, containing flowers of the
choicest hues and fragrance, gather
ed from the conservatory which was
visible through the small door, on the
summit of the second, was placed a
statue of the Venus de Medici, sculp
tured by a master hand, in snow-white
marble ; the third supported another
vase, also filled with flowers, while
the top of the fourth was occupied by
an image of the Virgin Mary, her
eyes raised upward to heaven, and
her hands clasped over the crucifix,
resting upon her bosom.

The small door leading into the ad
joining conservatory, located in the
second story of the western wing of
Livingstone s princely mansion, hung
sh ghtly ajar. A delightful fragrance,
the breath and sweetness of many
flowers, pervaded the atmosphere.
The perfume of the full-blown rose, the
penetrating scent of the heliotrope, the
delightful odor of the arbor vitoa, ming
ling with the fragrance of a thousand
other plants and flowers, created an air
of delicious and intoxicating sweetness.

The appointments of the boudoir
or, perhaps, closet would be the more
correct designation were neat and
classic. Four handsome gothic chairs,
with worked-cloth seats, disposed
along the walls, an elegant sofa, placed
between two of the pedestals, a se
verely-classic table of snow-white
marble standing opposite, all burdened
with books in costly binding, strewn
over its surface; and a gorgeous
Turkey carpet, whose deep rich co
lors were in effective contrast to the
light and delicate papering of the

walls ; all combined produced an effect
of elegance and taste, heightened ana
refined by the vases of flowers, and the
marble statues presenting beauty in
the contrasted forms of Religion and
Love.

The heat of the conservatory, ming
ling with the sweetness of its flowers,
imparted a fragrant warmth to the
boudoir. No stove, nor grate, with
glaring coal or crackling wood, was
therefore needed to render the place
comfortable.

Altogether the entire room was im
bued with an air of spiritual repose
of dreamy languor, which would have
been very ethenal indeed, if it had not
been for the presence of the small
breakfast table which stood in the
centre of the carpet, like a plain and
stubborn earthly fact, with its silver
coffee-pot, porcelain cup, and buttered
toast, disposed along the surface of a
snow-white cloth. However, the cof
fee was cold, and the toast untasted.
This was something in favor of the
spirituality of the boudoir.

Through the dim light which im
parted a twilight effect to the room,
you might discern the outlines of a
woman s form, as she lay reclining on
the sofa. Her form, full, large and
voluptuous, was enveloped in the folds
of a snow-white morning gown, which
gathering lightly around her queenly
figure, displayed the symmetry of her
rounded arms, the fulness of her bust,
and the swelling outlines of her person,
in the richest varieties of light and
shade. A single red gleam of sun
light, escaping through tho folds of
the window-curtain streamed over the
whiteness of her snowy neck.

THE FORGER.

Her head resting on the sofa cush
ion, with the dark hair falling care
lessly around, her eyes were half-
closed in dreamy reverie and the
brightness of her glance, subdued to a
hazy dimness, which attested the ab
sence of her thoughts from all out
ward things, stole mildly from the
shadow of the ong and trembling
lashes.

Here entire attitude was that of a
person, absorbed in some delightful
reverie. Her hands were gently clasp
ed in front of her form, her limbs, as
you might see by the folds of her
dress, were carelessly crossed, one
over the other, while one small and
delicate foot, with the slender ancle,
encased in the snow-white stocking,
was visible, as she lay with her volup
tuous person, thrown lightly along the
sofa.

She was indeed a beautiful and vo-
mptuous woman. The deep vermillion
of her lips, the burning flush crimsoning
each cheek, the blackness of her eye
lashes and pencilled brows, the long
dark hair which when all unbound,
fell in thick and glossy tresses, below
her waist, the fullness of her bosom,
the swelling roundness of her limbs,
the smallness of her feet, and the de
licacy of her hands, with long and ta
pering fingers, all attested her love
liness and beauty ; while the swim
ming glance of her large eyes, indi
cates the innate voluptuousness of her
nature.

Her eyes, were of that deep and
well-like brightness, which seems to
throw open to the vision of the gazer,
not only their mellowed glance and
dazzling radiance, but the entire pros-
peci of th^ hidden soul. You gazed

not upon, but into, those eyes, au&lt;j
felt that you were in the presence of a
mighty intellect and a sensual orgaV
nization.

As she lay reclining on the sofa, a
a low murmur of delight escaped from
her lips, and a flush, like the sunny-
side of a ripening peach, blight-
ened over her face and neck.
Her eyelids slowly unclosing revealed
her large dark eyes, animate with an
expression of sudden delight, and
beaming with a swimming brightness
that finds no parallel, save in the
glance of a lovely and voluptuous
woman.

Dora rose slowly to her feet, and
stood erect upon the floor.

" That were a boon, worth the peril
of a soul to win !" she whispered in a
low and softened tone, as her hands
absently toyed with the rose, which
rested upon her bosom " A coronet,
yes, yes, a coronet ! This is a fair
brow they tell me how well the glit
tering circlet of diamonds, would be
come its beauty ! A coronet ! "But one
short year ago, a poor girl, clad in the
threadbare costume, which seems to
belong by right, to poverty-stricken
gentility, watched by the bedside of a
dying mother, in a meanly-furnished
apartment, faintly illumined by the
beams of a flickering lamp. Now that
poor girl, is the wife of one of the
merchant-princes of the city, rolls in
wealth, almost without limit, and of
course moves among the first ciicles
of the Aristocracy of this good city !
Such Aristocracy ha, ha ! Like a spe
cimen of paste-board statuary, giving
a grotesque outline, of the reality
which it is intended to represent!
Another year ! Ha, ha ! My braia

DORA LIVINGSTONE AT HOME.

155

grows wild ! Another year and this
same poor girl, may, no, no, will
stand among the glittering circles of a
royal Court, with the blaze of rank
and beauty flashing all around her,
with the smile of a Queen, beaming
upon her face, while a coronet, that
tells the ancestral glories of a thou
sand years, rests brightly upon her
brow !

" * Dora Livingstone, wife of Living
stone, the Merchant -Prince that
sounds well, though prince that word
merchant as you may, it still re
tains ha, ha! a wonderful taint of
the Shop ! But there is a title, written
on the very clouds which darken over
my Future, which would sound much
better, and that title but hold my
brain grows dizzy ; I seem to glide on
air that title is "

" Dora Lyndeswold, Countess of
Lyndeswold !" said a deep voice at the
shoulder of the beautiful woman.

She turned hastily round, gazing
upon the intruder, with a glance of
mingled surprise and anger.

Fitz-Cowles, in all the elegance of
his fashionable attire, stood before her,
with his conical hat in one hand, his
gold -headed cane in the other, while
a smile of peculiar meaning lighted
up his dusky countenance.

" Ha, ha ! Dora, you are surprised
to see me ! The truth is, old Artichoke
your gardener, attracted my eye as I
passed thr- &lt;rh the hall. He wanted
me to e&gt; ne, some of his favorite
plants. rile his attention was turn
ed ano f way, I stole up the back
stairca- reached the conservatory,
and hf am ! Yes yes Dora, not-
Jing your incredulous snv le,

it is in your power, to DO Countess of
Lyndeswold "

" Algernon, it can never be " ex
claimed Dora, fixing the gaze of her
brilliant eyes, upon his countenance,
with a glance of strange meaning.

" But it can be, Dora, and it must
be " answered Fitz-Cowles, in a
careless tone, as he gently balanced
his gold-headed cane, on the palm of
his right hand, with a see-saw motion.

Dora silently laid her hand on his
shoulder, and gazed into his eyes, with
a glance of deep interest.

" By what means, you would ask t
By flight ! Yes, by flight ! Next Tues-
day the Great Western, sails from
New York. Let us arrange all our
matters, take passage on board the
steamer, and in fifteen days we will be
in London. It is but a day s ride from
London to Lyndeswold "

^"Lyndeswold 1 echoed Dora,
and the name seemed to act like a spell
upon her " Ah, ha ! England boasts
an Aristocracy, founded on high deeds
whose records we trace, in the history
of a thousand years. The Aristocracy
of this land, and ha, ha, this cify, ia
founded on what ? Can you tell
Algernon T\

" I ve been trying to find out for the
last three months. I flatter myself
that I know something about the pe
culiar merits and glories of Quaker
City, aristocracy "
* " An Aristocracy founded on the
high deeds of dentists, tape-sellers,
quacks, pettifoggers, and bank direc
tors, all jumbled together in a r idicu-
lous mass of absurdities. Your den
tist, whose proper court of arms
should be a tooth and p ; nc,ers on a

156

THE FORGER

field gules , sends to the Herald s Col
lege, in London, and asks the Herald s
to trace back his pedigree to the con
quest ! And so with all tin classes of
the Philadelphia ton. Now could we
establish a Herald s college, in the
State House, I would make the pro
fession of every man, the rule by
which to fashion his crest or coat of
arms ! To the Quack a pill-box !
To the petifogger, three links of a con
victs chain, with the Penitentiary in
the distance ! To the Bank Director a
Widow s Coffin, with a weeping Or
phan on either side by way of heral
dic supporters ! Pah ! There is no sin
gle word of contempt in the whole
language, too bitter, to express my
opinion of this magnificent Pretension
the Aristocracy of the Quaker
City !"

" You are quite animated, Dora !
I never trouble myself about such
mall matters !"

" Do you know, what was the pro
fession of my grandfather?" exclaim
ed Dora, as with a smile of bitter sar
casm playing on her proud lip, she
again confronted Fitz-Cowles "Why,
na, ha, ha ! He was guess what ?"

" A merchant perhaps ? or a mem
ber of one of the oldest families of
Pennsylvania to use the slang of the
day, or or

E A Shoemaker/"} shrieked Dora,
with a burst of laughter, as she strode
hurriedly up and down the room
" Yes, yes a shoemaker!"

" A cobbler !" muttered Fitz-Cowles
starting with a look of silent disgust.

" Yes, yes, a toil-begrim d cobbler,
who sate working all day long on an
old bench, mending other peoples old
shoos ? And I r. shamed of this? Ha,

ha ! Not in the least ! The cobbler s
grand-daughter moves in the first cir
cles of the Aristocracy of Philadel-
phia ! And what is something to her
credit, she is not ashamed of her an
cestry ! She does not conceal it with
some sounding pretension to high birth,
but at once, and without reserve, hor
rifies, the tape-and bobbin nobility of
the Quaker City, with the plain decla
ration, that Dora Livingstone wife of
the Merchant Prince, is a Cobbler s
grand-daughter !"

" Deuce take me, if I can under
stand you Dora ! You are not ashamed
of having a shoemaker for your grand
father, and yet you reverence the spi
rit of ancestral pride !"

" You have given my jipinions with
remarkable precision ! 1 tell you, Al
gernon, that I respect, the Mechanic,
at his bench, though his hands be
rough, his face begrimed with toil,
his manners uncouth and destitute of
polish ! But for the petty Aristocrat ;
the Duke Thimble-and-thread, the
Count Soap-and-candle, the Baron
Peddle-and -cheat, for all these, I do
entertain the most sovereign contempt !
Give me the honest Mechanic at the
bench if we must have a nobility, for \
your true republican nobleman : not |
the dishonest Bank-Director at the I
desk ! But if you pass the Mechanic
aside whose honest vote, sustains
your republic if you pass him aside,
when you form your Aristocracy, then
I say, give us the Titles and the Trap
pings of an English nobility ! Let 113
at once have a Throne and a Count,
a King and Courtiers !"J

" Ha, ha, ha ! Dora you grow
philosophical ! Decidedly so ! But you
have quite forgotten my proposition.

DORA LIVINGSTONE AT HOME.

157

Flight, Dora, sudden and successful
flight !"

" And do you think Fitz-Cowles,
that I would fly with you as an it is
a sweet word and a true one as an
Adultress ! As an Adultress forsak
ing her husband ? No No ! By my
life ; no !"

" Once in England, we could be
united in marriage, without the slight
est difficulty. You would become the
Countess of Lyndeswold on the death
of my father, when I would succeed
to the Earldom. During his life, our
title would merely be, my Lord and
Lady Dalveny of Lyndeswold "

" Countess of Lyndeswold, and my
husband living in America ! Ha, ha,
ha ! This is like some probable his
tory in the Arabian Nights !"

" And how do you propose to over
come the the difficulty "

" Which is but another name for
a husband, after all " muttered
Dorainatone*inaudible to Fitz-Cowles.

"You know, Dora, that we must
arrange our plan of action without de
lay. A solitary word of suspicion,
whispered in your husband s ears by
some officious friend, and our schemes
are blown to the gentleman in
black."

Dora approached Fitz-Cowles and
laid her hand on his shoulder, while
b^r dark eyes, flashing with a deep
and meaning glance, were fixed upon
his countenance.

" Suppose Livingstone should die "
she said, in a low whisper, while her
eyes became intensely brilliant and
her face grew suddenly pale.

" Why " replied Fitz-Cowles, with
a slight start " Why, you would then
ye *he widow Livingstone, with a for-

i tune of some two hundred thousand in
your possession. But you know, Dora,
Livingstone bids fair to live at least
half a century from the present mo
ment "

"Livingstone may die, and that
suddenly " said Dora, in that same
low tone, while the hand, resting on
Fitz-Cowles shoulder, trembled like a
leaf.

" Egad ! Dora, you re white as
snow in the face ! One would think
you meant something by the
glance of your eyes. Do speak out
and let us hear the news "

" Listen, Algernon, and I will tell
you a secret. Strong and vigorous
man as he looks, Livingstone has been
for years the victim of a secret and
insidious disease. It is that disease
which slowly and quietly, almost with,
out pain, ossifies the main arteries of
the heart. The victim may live for
years, with the flush of health on his
cheek and brow, while this insidious
disease is closing up the avenues of
his life. He may live for years with
all the outward signs of health and
vigor, when a sudden excitement of
mind would lay him down a lifeless
corse ; aye, in an instant, without a
single pain to warn him of his danger,
he would fall a lifeless corse "

" Yes, yes, I remember. McTorni-
quet the queer doctor, who talks
of Henry Clay, the statesman, and
Henry Clay, his blood horse, all in
the same breath took the trouble,
one day last week, to explain this
disease to me. However, he did not
tell me that Livingstone was its vic
tim"

" This doctor, who is our family
physician, called here but an hour

158

THE FORGER.

ago, and asked me when I expected
_ Mr. Livingstone back from New York.
I answered, of course, next week. He
then told me that the main arteries of
my husband s heart were now almost
entirely ossified ; that I must take
every care in the world of him, for
any s idden excitement, would kill
him ir. in instant "*

" Wha, a pity ! Poor fellow ! To
think of a man going about with such
a bad heart in his bosom !"

" You understand me, then ? Liv
ingstone may live for twenty, nay, for
thirty years longer, and he may die
in a year, a month, a day, or it
may be in an hour."

"I appreciate his position, Dora.
To say the least, its a very ticklish
one. Jove ! The idea of a man hav
ing red cheeks, bright eyes, and a
firm step, while his heart is turning to
bone the idea of such a state of af
fairs, I say !"

Dora drew nearer to Algernon s

* In the course of a series of lectures, de
livered last winter by the gifted Dr. Mitchell,
celebrated no less for his medical attainments
than his poetical genius, the learned gentle
man described the disease of the heart in de
tail. From his lecture I derived a knowledge
of the various phenomena of the disease,
which I have used in this portion of my nar
rative. The learned Doctor described, in
eloquent terms, the insidious manner in which
this disease, through a long course of years,
gradually ossified the avenues to the heart of
its victim, until at last, his life would hang
suspended by a hair. The victim might live
for years if I do not mis-quote the Doctor
with the main arteries of the heart most entire
ly ossified, but a sudden and violent excitement
would result in instantaneous death. Since
.he lectures of the Doctor, I have seen the
truth of his remarks confirmed, in the death
t&gt;f a man, whose cheeks were glowing with
apparent health at the very moment when he
fell a lifeless corse.

side, and suddenly grasped him by
the wrist. There was a wild light
j gleaming from her dark eyes as she
gazed fixedly in his face, and a slight
wrinkle indented the surface of her fair
forehead, between the eyebrows. Her
voi 3e was utterly changed in its tones,
when she whispered these words to the
listener s ear.

" Algernon, give me your advice on
a point of the deepest interest. When
my husband returns from New York,
I^will seize the earliest opportunity to
press upon his attention the import
ance of having his Will prepared with
out delay. Poor man ! His life hangs
by a slender thread the most trifling
chance may sever that thread, and
precipitate him into eternity. It is
important, therefore, that he should
hold himself prepared for death. Jus
tice to his wife demands that his Will,
making a final disposition of his for
tune, should be executed with alt pos
sible haste "

"By Jove, Dora, you look quite
wild. To what tends all this ? Hush !
Did you not hear a footstep in the
conservatory ?"

" Suppose, Algernon, that my hus
band should make his Will. Suppose
he leaves his fortune to his wife.
These suppositions made, I wish you
to imagine a scene. Livingstone and
myself are seated in the parlor, on a
winter s evening, beside the cheerful
fire. His face is lighted up with a
pleasant smile, as, displaying the un
folded Will in his hands, he gazes
upon the beaming countenance of his
wife. And that wife mark you,
Algernon at the very moment when
the husband reaches forth his arms to
clasp her to his bosom, falls on her

DORA LIVINGSTONE AT HOME.

159

Knees at his feet, and, in broken words,
shrieks forth the story of her guilt, and
his dishonor! Yes, yes, to his ear,
to the ear of the man who loves his
wife as man never loved wife before,
that young and innocent wife, "ells the
dark story of her shame Even
while his face beams with affection,
she tells him that he is dishonored,
aye, dishonored ! That she has been
false to his bed, recreant to her plight
ed faith ! That she is polluted in per
son, corrupt in soul ! That this young
wife, whom he loved so well, is ha,
ha an Adultress ! This she tells
him with tears of repentance, with
prayers for mercy, with groans of
anguish ! And he how think ye
Livingstone would hear this confession
from the wife whose very image he
now worships ? Ha ! Algernon !
Think ye not, it would kill him, even
before his frantic wife had done with
her tale of guilt 1 Even as he sate,
without a moments delay, he would
fall from his chair, a stiffened corse ?
Would he not, Algernon ?"

A blasphemous oath escaped from
Fitz-Cowles lips, and in a sudden
start, which shook his frame, he suf
fered his hat and cane to fall on the
floor.

By G d, Dora, I don t think
i you re a human being !"

He said this in a low-toned voice,
and turned away from the Merchant s
wife, as she stood in the centre of the
room, her statue dilating to its full
heighth, while, with a panting bosom
and a flashing eye, she awaited his
answer to her momentous question.

** And this" she cried, gazing upon
Fitz-Cowles, who stood near the win
dow with his face averted from hsr
11

glance "And this, after I have sacri
ficed all I possess on earth, all I hope
in heaven ; and sacrificed for you /"

" Hun ! Did nt you hear a foot
step in the conservatory 1 Really,
Dora, you are very imprudent " ex
claimed Fitz-Cowles, in a sullen tone,
as he gazed vacantly through the win
dow-curtains.

" Would to God, there had been a
footstep in the conservatory when I
first resigned myself to shame !" said
Dora, in a tone of keen and biting
sarcasm.

" When a lady agrees, makes up
her mind to part with her virtue, and
a gentleman makes up his mind to
accept the gift, all is fair and satisfac
tory, and nobody, but an injured hus
band has a right to complain. But,
Murder, Dora Murder "

" Murder ! Madman that you are,
who spoke of murder? Fitz-Cowles,
I beseech you do not force me to
change my opinion, with regard, to
you. I thought you were a man ; one
of that class, in fact, who look rather
to the end that is to be accomplished
than to the delicacy of the means "

" But Dora, this experiment of
yours has ten chances of failure, to
one of success. Livingstone might.
recover from the shock, occasioned by
your confession "

"Then it is the chance of failure,
not the experiment itself, which turns
your face to the hue of ashes "

" D n the thing, Dora, Livingstone
never wronged me. And I can t see
that he has done you any injury suffi
cient to warrant such a return "

" I perceive Algernon " said Dora,
crossing her arms, with a calm ge-
ture " You do not undei stand me.

1 60

THE FORGER.

Livingstone, never did me a wrong :
on the contrary, he has bestowec
wealth upon me, almost without bound,
and lavished affection upon me, until
it amounts to idolatry. You never
gave me wealth, you never gave me
love. Then what is the tie that binds
me to you? You have it in your
power to grace the the ha, ha !
The Cobbler s grand-daughter with a
title ! Livingstone is the bar sinister ,
ha, ha, between me and hereditary
rank ! Who spoke of murder 1 Not
I, by my life ! Livingstone may die,
he may die. That, was all I said "
" He may die, that is true " said
Fitz-Cowles, turning away from the
window * By-the-bye, Dora, you are
remarkably ambitious, for a sensible
woman. Your very soul, seems ab
sorbed in this ambition to rise j"

" There is a leaf of my heart, Fitz-
Cowles, which you never yet, have
read. I loved once ; loved with all
the intensity of my nature, and sacri
ficed my plighted love, for wealth and
Livingstone. iDid you never read in
books, that the first love of a strong
minded woman, when divested from its
proper source, turns to the gall and
bitterness of worldly ambitiogj I feel
in my inmost soul, that I was destined
from my birth to rank and station, to
the sway of hearts and the rule of
power. In my early childhood, when
forced by penury, my mother, a wi
dowed and a friendless woman, sought
a home, in the outskirts of the city,
the prophecy was whispered in my
ears, that one day, I should wear a co
ronet, and walk a titled lady among
the grandees of a royal court "
" And some old crone, I suppose,

with a cup sprinkled with tea-grounaa
in her hand, was the Oracle ?"

" It matters not, for the prophecy ,
come it from whom it might, found its
echo in my own heart. Does it not
often chance, that a casual word, ut
tered by an ignorant mechanic, strikes
a mighty chord in some Statesman s
heart, and originates a new and mag
nificent scheme of state policy ? So n
chance word, from vulgar lips, may
arouse a prophecy which has beer,
hidden in our souls, since the hour of
our birth. Why did the Creole, Josephine,
credit the withered hag, who foretold
that her brow, would one day be en
circled with the Crown of France ?
Because the old crone, was gifted by
heaven with especial power? No
no no ! She might have foretold a
thousand incidents, and not one would
have impressed the heart of Josephine,
with even a passing sensation.

" On the heart of this same Creole,
Josephine, from the hour of her birth,
had been written down by God s own
hand, the high destiny for which she
had been born, and the chance words
of the old crone, aroused the pro-
phecy into life !"

" Hush ! Dora, there is a footstep
on the stairs " exclaimed Fitz
Cowles with a sudden start.

" My God ! It is Livingstone s foot
step !" and as she spoke, Dora s face
grew suddenly pale " Ha ! The note,
which I left last night on the centre
table, was gone, when I looked for it
this morning. Could he have returned
n the night ?"

The door leading into the main buiid-
ng of the mansion, was suddenly
opened, and a red-faced servah. -n

DORA LIVINGSTONE AT HOME.

16)

grey livery, turned up with velvet,
entered the boudoir.

" Mister Livingstone, ma am !"

And in an instant Livingstone ap
peared in the doorway, and entered
the room.

" Ah ha ! My dear I ve stole a
march on you, have I ? Back from
New York sooner than I expected,
you see ! Ah ha ! Colonel, is that
you ? How do you do !"

" My God ! Livingstone ! How pale
you are " was the involuntary excla
mation of the wife, as her eyes, were
riveted to his countenance "Have
you been ill ?"

" Egad ! You look as if you been
sick a-month !" exclaimed Fitz-Cowles
" Why Livingstone positively you re
turning grey !"

Calm and smiling Livingstone ad
vanced, and gathered his right arm
round the waist of his beautiful wife.
His face was very pale, and his blue
eyes, had an unnatural brilliancy in
their glance, which in the mind of an
acute observer might have aroused a
suspicion as to the sanity of the Mer
chant.

" One kiss my love !" exclaimed
Livingstone, as he pressed his lips to
the full and pouting lips of his wife,
while his face, brightened with a look
of pleasure "You must excuse,
these little matrimonial attentions Fitz-
Cowles. We married men, are very
apt to be fond of our wives ; espe
cially after a long absence. And how s
your poor sick friend my dear !"

" You have my note, then ?" ex
claimed Dora, as a slight tremor was
visible on her lip.

" To be sure, my dear, to be sure.
: returned from New York in the night,

found your note on the contro-lable,
and having read its contents, I retired
from the house without alarming the
servants. I spent the night at the
counting-house, examining my books
and papers. How did you say your
poor sick friend was, Dora ?"

" Alas ! She is dead !" and Dora
turned away as if to conceal her agi
tation.

"Well, well, it can t be helped.
Debt we ve all got to pay as the
old women at a funeral, have it. By-
the-bye, Fitz-Cowles, I ve got some
traces of the Forger at last !"

The Merchant laid his hand play
fully on Fitz-Cowles, shoulder and
gazed smilingly in his eyes, while his
unoccupied hand, toyed with his watch-
seals, in a careless manner.

" The deuce, you have ?" answered
Fitz-Cowles with a stare of surprise-
" By Jove !" he muttered to himself
" There is a strange look, about Li
vingstone s eyes, that does nt exactly
please me !"

" I tell you how it was, my boy "
continued Livingstone, still toying
with his watch-seals " While I was
in New York, the head clerk of the
Charleston House, arrived in town. He
recognized the Forger, one day in
Broadway, strutting it, among the
finest bucks of the city "

" And you arrested him ?"

" Not exactly. We had evidence
enough for suspicion ; but conviction*
you know is a different thing. You ll
laugh when I tell you how I managed
it with the fellow. He was one ot my
most intimate friends in New York .
and was wont to frequent my rooms,
very much during the day, manifest
ing his familiarity by calling me &

162

THE FORGER.

jolh old fellow Old Lin. and all
that kind of thing, you understand?
Before the head clerk arrived from the
South, I did not ever dream of sus
pecting this perfumed gentleman of
the forgery. Why Colonel do you
know, that I d just as soon suspected
you, as him?"

" Curse me Livingstone these kind
of comparisons, are deuced unplea
sant " observed Fitz-Cowles grow-
ing very uneasy under the Merchant s
gaze.

" What do you think we did when
we found that we had nt evidence
sufficient for conviction ? Why ha,
ha ! It s two good ! We dressed up
a decayed police officer, like a Sou
thern planter, and introduced him to
the Forger, as a gentleman of immense
fortune from the South. The forger,
promenades New York, with the dis
guised Police Officer at his elbow,
showing the pseudo-planter all the
lions of the town, and making him
self agreeable in a general way. Now
the joke of the thing.

"Yes " echoed Fitz-Cowles
" The joke of the thing "

" Is simply this. The Southern
Planter has a warrant in his pocket,
for the arrest of the Forger, the mo
ment he shall attempt to leave the City!
Ha Ha Ha ! Capital !"

" Capital ! Capital ! Ha, ha, ha !"
roared Fitz-Cowles.

" Is nt it too good ?"

" Ha, ha, ha ! It is too good ! A
warrant in his pocket, for the arrest
of the Forger, all the while did ye
say ! Capital ha, ha, ha ! Capital !"

"Why Fitz-Cowles, your ladye-
love, has been making free with a lock
m , our hair 1 " exclaimed Livingstone

playfully " Look here, Dora, what
space there is, near Fitz-Cowles righ
temple ! A large lock severed close to
the skin why Dora, I declare you
too, have been making somebody a
present of a lock of your hair ! A
large tress severed from the hair, near
your right temple too ! Singular co
incidence oh, Fitz-Cowles ?"

With the same involuntary gesture,
Fitz-Cowles and Dora, both raised
their hands to their right temples, and
both discovered that a large tress was
missing, from among the clustering
locks of their raven-black hair.

" Curse that barber ! I shall have to
flog him !" muttered Fitz-Cowles-
" How deuced careless in him !"

" Positively Albert, I can t tell how
this occurred " said Dora approach
ing her husband " I must have cut
it off in my sleep. How extremely
odd " " Or somebody may have cut
it off, to save you the trouble, while
you were asleep !" said Livingstone
with a kindly smile, as turning from
his wife he approached one of the
windows, and looked out upon the sky.

Meanwhile Dora stood silent and
thoughtful, her bosom heaving upward
with sudden pulsations, clashed for a
moment, convulsively together, trem
bled with the agitation that quivered
through her whole frame.

" Now" she murmured as a slight
pallor overspread her beautiful coun
tenance " Now, is the moment of
my fate ! The disease, gathering round
his heart, manifests its progress al
ready, in his countenance ! I will con
fess all, ha, ha, I will throw myself at
his feet and beseech his pardon !"

" Fitz-Cowles turned pale as ashes.
He did not hear the whispered word*

DORA LIVINGSTONE AT HOME.

163

of Dora, but he read her fixed and des
perate purpose in the lines of her coun-
lenance, now moulded into an express
ion, as unrelenting as Death. While
his brain whirled round in wild con
fusion, he resolved to delay or at least
10 thwart the accomplishment of her
purpose.

" Aid me now, Great Father, before
whom,~T shall so soon appear !" were
the murmured words that broke from
the white lips of Livingstone, as with
his face turned from his wife and her
paramour, he made a pretence of
gazing upon the clear and blue winter s
sky " I feel that fit of madness com
ing over me again. Oh, for a little
strength to go through the mockery !
To pretend affection to the wife ; friend
ship to the paramour ! There is frenzy
in my veins ; I know it ; I feel it ; but
I will, I will command my soul !"

And yet as the words escaped from
his lips, he felt that same feeling of
mocking frenzy, which had given its
impulse to his actions, in Monk-Hall,
the night before, rushing like a torrent
through his veins. Conscious that he
was acting like a madman, he drew a
pistol from his bosom, and making one
stride across the floor, held it to the
heart of Fitz-Cowles.

" A handsome pistol Colonel ! Silver
mounted with a hair trigger! One
touch of my finger and you re a dead
man ! Ha ha ! How you step back
ward, how you recede to the wall.
Zounds, man, but I believe you re
afraid !"

"For Heaven s sake, Livingstone,
put the thing away " cried Fitz-
Cowles as with the pistol at his heart,
step by step he retreated to the wall
" You might, yoJi know, pull the trig-

| ger by chance ! It s loaded you say
and "

"The bail might lodge in your
heart! Ha! ha! ha! So it might!
Suppose we try !"

As he spoke he pulled the trigger
Dora uttered an involuntary shriek as
the clinking of the pistol broke on the
air, and then covered her face with
her hands. When she again looked
around the room, she beheld Fitz-
Cowles standing in one corner, pale
as ashes, while Livingstone, with a
bitter smile wreathing his white lips,
still held the pistol presented at his
breast.

" Confound those caps not worth
the having !" exclaimed Livingstone,
with a pleasant smile - " Why, Colo
nel, ha, ha, ha ! You look as frighten
ed as if, ha, ha, ha ! I had intended to
shoot you !"

" The pistol was loaded " hesi
tated Fitz-Cowles, as he averted his
eyes from Livingstone s flashing
glance.

" Loaded 1 Nonsense man I was
merely trying some new percussion
caps."

" The disease has affected his rea
son " muttered Dora, as she ad
vanced to her husband s side " Now
for the confession and the result /"

"You dropped your handkerchief,
Mrs. Livingstone " exclaimed Fitz-
Cowles, as starting hastily forward
he presented the snow-white l mou-
choirj with a low bow Not on the
peril of your soul!" he hissed the
whisper between his set teeth, as hia
dark eyes were fixed upon her face
with a malignant yet frightened glance.

She returned his glance with a look
of scorn.

164

THE FORGER.

She advanced to her husband s side,
she seized his arm with a convulsive
grasp, while her dark eyes flashed with
an expression of the deepest emotion.

" Livingstone " she shrieked,
with all the pathos of voice and ges
ture at her control " I have much
to tell you "

In another instant she lay panting
upon his breast, with her arms flung
round his neck, while the convulsive
sobs, which heaved her bosom, broke
wildly on her husband s ear.

Fitz-Cowles saw that his fate hung
in a balance, which the weight of a
feather might turn.

" Ha !" cried Livingstone, with the
same strange glance which marked his
wandering intellect, flashing from his
clear blue eye " Ha ! what means
this agitation this sudden emotion

these sobs and tears ?"

Why the fact is, Livingstone
your wife is anxious that is to say

deuce take the thing ! Dr. McTor-
niquet was here this morning, and
and dropped some strange hints
about a disease to which you are sub
ject and and your wife is alarm
ed for your health "

&lt;c Fools ! They think to deceive
me !" thought Livingstone, as his wife
lay sobbing in his arms " They do
not dream that I overheard their in
genious plans, as I stood in the con
servatory, not five minutes past ! Ha,
ha ! I will be even with them ! Oh,
with regard to the disease of the
heart " he continued, aloud
" Which has threatened me for so
many years, I forgot to mention a
slight circumstance McTorniquet,
rhis worning assured me that he
bad long mistaken my symptoms.

I am no more in danger, from any
malady of this kind than you are, my
dear. There, Dora, don t weep I
can well appreciate this affectionate
regard for my health, but you mus n t
weep "

As Dora lay with her head buried
in his bosom, a quick and sudden
tremor shook her frame from head to
foot. She was deceived for once in
her life, and after having betrayed her
husband in the very hour of his mad
ness became his willing dupe. With
one start she raised her head, and her
face, pale and ghastly, from the effect
of the sudden revulsion of feeling, was
disclosed in the morning sunlight.

"Oh Livingstone " she said in a
voice tremulous with emotion, "I
am so glad to discover that all my ap
prehensions, are groundless !"

Sh walked to the window, as if to
hide the agitation, the joyful agitation
which Livingstone s unexpected dis
closure, had aroused in her soul. As
she passed Fitz-Cowles, she darted a
look in his face, full of dark and fear
ful meaning. For a moment her coun
tenance was convulsed by an express-
ion, hideous as it was resolute, and
then, like a sunbeam gleaming from a
cloud, all was calm and smiling again.

"By-the-bye, Dora, I had nearly
forgotten, an important circumstance,
connected with our celebration of the
Christmas holidays. You know, my
country seat of Hawkwood in Jersey,
some ****** miles from Cam den?
It is the old family mansion of the
Livingstone s was built in fact long
before the revolution. Full of secret \
passages, solemn old rooms with wide
fireplaces, lofty halls, and wainscottmg
without limit) you know 7"

DORA LIVINGSTONE AT HOME.

16-3

" I have ofton heard of this strange
old family seat " replied Dora, with
out turning from the window, " And
have as often felt a desire to see the
place"

"You shall see it, my dear, within
two days. I have this morning des
patched servants to the place, in order
to arrange the old hall for the celebra
tion of Christmas in the old English
style. To morrow morning we will
start for Hawkwood and spend the
holiday s there. Fitz-Cowles, I hope
you will favor us with your company?
You nod assent. Well, that is settled ;
and now I must away to the ware
house. You will excuse me, Fitz-
Cowles ? I ll be home to dinner my
dear"

Livingstone left the boudoir as he
spoke.

Dora turned from the window and
faced Fitz-Cowles. Their eyes met
in one deep and meaning glance.

Well, " said Fitz-Cowles draw
ing a long breath " We re out of
that d d scrape, any how !"

Dora smiled, but did not speak.
Her attention was attracted by a loose
slip of letter paper, which lay on the
carpet, near her feet. With a manner
of easy nonchalance, she picked this
paper from the floor, and examined it
with a careless glance.

In a moment, quick as a lightning
flash, her dark eyes shone with sudden
fire, her stature dilated to its full height,
and her bosom, rose and fell, beneath
the folds of her morning gown, with
an impulse of the deepest agitation.
She stood in the centre of the room, in
ail her beauty and loveliness, regard
ing the paper which she held in her
trembling hand, with one intense and

flashing glance, while her face, waa
crimsoned over by a sudden flush of
excitement. There was an expression
of scorn mingled with triumph on her
curving lip ; and her high forehead,
was impressed with a slight yet mean
ing frown.

" Why Dora you are agitated "
exclaimed Fitz-Cowles advancing
" What can there be, in that slip of
paper to move you thus ?"

Her eyes gleamed like flame-coals
as the answer broke from her lips in
a slow and deliberate whisper, ren
dered most wild and thrilling, br th
sudden huskiness of her voice :

" Leave that to me, and to &lt;*&lt;
Future /"

CHAPTER FIFTH.

THE GOLD WATCH.

" LUKE, you know how liable wt
are to accident and sudden death ? If
I should die suddenly, I wish you to
open this packet and execute the com
mission which it names. Consider
this request, Luke, as the last request
of a dying man. Will you promise
me?"

"I will, and do promise you "
Luke replied, grasping the hand of
Livingstone " As soon as you are
dead, I will open this packet, and at
every peril, at all hazards execute the
commission which it names. Egad !"
he muttered to himself " he seems
to have recovered from his mad fit
A precious tramp I ve had, up and
down this beautiful city ever since day
break, in order to cool him off!"

16"

THE FORGER.

" Now, Luke, I must go home to
my family," said Livingstone, with a
faint smile as they emerged from the
Exchange " Here we part, Luke, at
least for a little while. It is now nine
o clock. At noon, I will meet you at
my house on especial business. Good
morning !"

They parted. Livingstone pursued
his way up Walnut street, while Luke
Harvey remained standing at the cor
ner of Walnut and Third.

" I don t suppose anything peculiar
will take place between this and sun
down do I? Very likely I don t.
Possibly I do ! Well, well, let mat
ters take their course. When a wo
man adorns her husband s forehead
with horns she ought to remember
that these ornamental branches may
be turned into dangerous weapons!
Stags gore people sometimes! W-h-ew!
There s that tooth again ! I must to
some tooth-butcher, right off!"

With great deliberation, Luke took
his black silk cravat from around his
neck, and investing his mouth and
jaws with its folds, fastened it over the
top of his head, with an ornamental
knot. He presented rather a singular
picture. His long and slim figure
was enveloped in a tight overcoat,
his hat was drawn down over his
brows, while his face was nearly
concealed by the folds of the black
cravat, which left a glimpse of his
eyes, the top of his nose, and a small
portion of each cheek exposed to view.

" I ll swear that tooth of mine must
have joined a Fire Company, by the
way it goes on ! W-h-ew !"

Passing the various good citizens
who were pursuing their way alcng
Walnut street, Luke, after a-half-an-

hour s brisk walking, with nis hand
pressed against his jaw all the while,
arrived before a splendid mansion,
with a great big silver plate affixed to
the door. " PILPETTE SURGEON
DENTIST," was blazoned on the plate,
in immense letters. Luke rung the
bell, and was swearing quietly at his
tooth, when a liveried servant appear
ed and showed him into a large room r
furnished in a style of lavish and auc
tion-store splendor, where Mr. Auguste
Pilpette, stood surrounded by the ma
terials of his elegant profession.

Mr. Auguste Pilpette was a stout
little man, with a high forehead and a
nose which would have been Roman
if it hadn t been shaped like a pear.
Mr. Pilpette prided himself on his
resemblance to Louis Phillipe, and
his acquaintance with the literature of
the day. Mr. Pilpette had been a
bricklayer the year before, and hi
name had been Jonas Pulp, which by
the same lively exertion of imagina
tion that transformed the layer of
bricks into the puller of teeth, had
been changed into Auguste Pilpette.

" Pilpette, this tooth s agoin on as
tho it would break my jaw, and blow
my brains out ! Pull it !"

" We will soon arrange this little
matter " said Auguste Pilpette, seat
ing Mr. Harvey in a chair, which
looked as though it had been made for
an Alderman, in the days when Alder
men averaged three hundred pounds
a-piece " We ll soon arrange this
little matter. A bad tooth. Shocks
ing. What s your opinion of Bui
wer?"

" Bui wer be d d ! Pulp, pull m&gt;j
tooth !"

1 Pulp, did not please Mr. Augusta

THE GOLD WATCH.

167

Pilpette. On the contrary, Mr. Pil-
pette was chafed.

" Pulp, indeed!" he muttered " I ll
give him a wrench for that !"

And, accordingly, throwing Luke s
head so far back that his upturned
eyes commanded a view of the vane
surmounting a distant steeple, which
was visible through the lofty window,
Mr. Pilpette proceeded to give Mr.
Harvey a wrench.

It was decidedly a wrench. Luke
sprang from the chair with a tremend
ous bound and an oath.

** D n n!" he muttered or hissed,
(and the man who objects to the oath
never had the toothache.) " D n n !
Why Pulp, you were born two cen
turies too late ! The Inquisition ought
to have had you !"

"Don t you think Dickens excels
\ in the quiet touches ?" said Mr. Pil
pette, with great suavity, as Luke
performed an irregular Polka over the
room "It seems to me, there s a
feeling and a finish in Dickens.

" Pulp you are an ass " replied
Luke, rather harshly, as well-nigh
convulsed with the pain of his un
worthy member, the half-drawn tooth,
he dashed into Mr. Pilpette s window
curtains, and looked out upon the
street "It s my opinion, Pulp, that
in you the Inquisition would have ex
perienced a great acquisition. Hollo,
who s that !"

Pulp, Pilpette, Inquisition, toothache,
and all were forgotten as Luke gazed
out in the street, with a stare of vacant
wonder lengthening his visage.

" I ll soothe him by a criticism "
thought Pilpette " Do you think, Mr.
Harvey, that the beauties of Shelly
are appreciated by the mass?"

"What!" shouted Luke, gazing
into the street " In the street at broad
daylight ! I d swear it s him ! Ha !
Ellis Mortimer ! He turns the cor
ner ! Now or never !"

While Mr. Pilpette stood stricken
dumb with astonishment, Luke flung
up the window-sash and sprang out
upon the pavement, before Mr. Pilpette
could say Jonas Pulp. Rising from
the pavement, for he had fallen in the
spring, Luke rushed down Walnut
street at the top of his speed, while
his long black hair, and the flaps of
his overcoat streamed carelessly in
the wind.

The spectacle of a hatless man
traversing Walnut street at the top of
his speed, in a cold winters day, had
rather a maniac wildness in it, and ac
cordingly, two ladies with sharp faces
and blue nose-tips, stopped somewhat
suddenly in their course and gazed
after the retreating form of Luke. A

very ragged newsboy, with whom the
sharp-nosed ladies, has just been en
deavoring to trade two pious tracts
headed "Bad Children in Hell," for
one * extrey Ledgey containing ac
counts of a steamboat accident on the
Mississippi, also turned round and
looked after Luke, with an emphatic
adjuration to his whiskers.

" Oh ! You bad youth !" said the
sharpest of the sharp-faced tract dis
tributors "Don t you know where
little boys that say bad words will go
to?"

" Can t say I do. House o Refuge
m am?"

" Oh ! You ignorant and deplorably-
neglected youth !" said the other lady,
whose nose was tipped with the faintest
shade of blue " Give me that Extra

168

THE FORGER.

Ledger and I ll give you this tract,
which tells you all about the bad
place."

" I d rather not. A-cause veri the
bad place comes it comes, and vots
the use of a feller riling his system
with it aforehand?"

With these words the unrepentant
youth strode away, making the air
vocal with Extrey Ledgey steam
boat blowed up on Massesappy ! Ten
hunder lives lost all for two cents !

Meanwhile, dashing along Walnut
street, Luke Harvey pursued the dis
tant form of a little hump-backed man,
who, all unconscious of th danger at
his back, was quietly wending his on
ward way. It was not long, however,
before he became cognizant of his
pursuer. While Luke was half-a-
equare distant, he suddenly slipped
into an alley and was lost to view.
Luke turned into the alley, emerged
into an adjoining street, but no signs
could he discern of Mr. Ellis Mortimer.

" I would have sworn it was the
Jew !" he muttered, gazing hurriedly
up and down the street " The very
look and dress of the man !"

" Here s a remarkable state of af
fairs ! One of the first merchants in
town * digging along Walnut street on
a cold winters day, without his hat !
Ha, ha ! Quite unique in the way of
le grand spectacle as we say in do
mestic French ! Eh, Harvey ?"

" Harvey !" echoed Luke, turning
round to greet the new-comer "Why,
damme, it s Poodle, Poodle of the
Black Mail. Go way fellow! I
hav n t got any bribe for you !"

" He, he, he, how jocular !" replied
Buzby Poodle, rubbing his hands
pleasantly together " I. know what

you re after. The Jew ha, ha, ha
I ve been watching him. Yonder
he goes! Harvey I say I might tell
you something if I liked ! I might !
I ve been watching the Jew /"

" Pooh ! The Jew has no bribe to
give you !" exclaimed Luke, with the
most emphatic disgust " Hallo !
There he is ; far down Seventh street
I ll have him yet !"

And down Seventh street Luke
started, with as much speed as though
he had a match against time, his hair
and coat-flaps streaming in the wind,
while Buzby Poodle watched his pro
gress with quiet wonder.

"Ha, ha! There he goes like
mad ! He s a-diggin down Seventh
street he nears the Jew ! Two to
one on Harvey anybody take that
bet? Ha! The Jew turns round-
bra vo ! Now the race becomes excit
ing ! Some little boys join the pursuit
a coal heaver flings down his shovel,
and pelts after em ! The Jew s ahead !
Go it, hump-back ! Go it, Harvey !
Hullo! He s got him no! He s
clear ! He turns down an alley
they re gone ! I d like to bet a con
siderable amount on the Jew yet.
Hum-hum ! Harvey wouldn t buy
me. Bad, that, for Harvey. I can
guess that he entertains some suspicions
with regard to Fitz-Cowles ; else why
does he pursue the hump-backed gen
tleman, whom I tracked from the
rooms of the millionaire ? I think
we must sell Harvey to Fitz-Cowles.
Damme, I ll cut up that fellow Harvey
in to-morrow s Black Mail. I ll be
bitter d d bitter!"

The State House struck eleven.
His face, all crimson with excitement.

THE GOLD WATCH.

169

his brow streaming with thick drops
of perspiration, his long hair flying
wildly in the wind, from under the
shadow of a very bad hat, which he
had borrowed from a friend, Luke
Harvey came slowly round the corner
of certain prominent streets in a re
mote district of the city, his entire
appearance betraying great exhaustion
of body, mingled with considerable
depression of spirits.

" Nearly two hours passed in chas
ing that cursed Jew ! Poh ! Pretty
figure I cut. The Jew ahead a long
tail of boys, sweeps and coal heavers
behind me. Wild chorus of yells
rending the air. People flinging up
their windows ha, ha ! Twig that
man without a hat! All humbug!
Kullo ! Here s the old woman s house !
Damme, I ll go in and see her !"

Luke stood in front of a three storied
dwelling, which, remarkable for its
old and desolate appearance, stood
among a cluster of Pawnbroker shops,
like a decayed gentleman surrounded
by pickpockets and thieves. Thick
masses of rank green moss grew over
the steep roof, and the garret window
was stuffed with an old straw hat and
bundles of rags. The shutters on the
first story were entirely closed, through
the windows of the second floor, faded
green blinds of a damp and mouldy
aspect were visible, while the glasses
of the remaining windows, in the third
story, were concealed by rough boards,
nailed loosely to the window-frame on
the outside. The solitary front door,
was one of your old fashioned front
doors, with massive posts, and heavy
cornices. The old brass knocker was
covered with a thick crust of verdigris,
and all along the door ind frame

some industrious hand had driven in
numerable nails, and spikes of every
size and pattern, as though a hard
ware merchant had been seized with
an original fancy, and wished to turn
the whole concern into a business card.

In fact, it looked just like the house
which all the restless spirits in the city,
gentlemen and lady ghosts, who fre-
-quent graveyards nightly, and prevail
very numerously in Christmas-time,
about the halls of old mansions, would
choose for their scene of assemblage,
in case the spiritual fraternity, deter
mined upon a National Convention of
all the ghosts in the union ; a sort of
death s head festival, with the Skele
ton-God himself in the chair.

Becky Smolby lived in this ancient
house. Becky Smolby and an Irish
female servant were the only tenants
of the old time mansion. Who Becky
Smolby was, or what were her sources
of livelihood, was a question often
asked, but by no means frequently
answered. (^ Becky was old, penurious
and avaricious ; every body knew
that. Didn t she keep the female ser-
vant for one entire week on stale gin
gerbread and sassafras beer? JBecky
was queer and whimsical ; this point
was never doubted. Did she not keep
candles burning all the day long in
the old mansion, even when she was
starving herself for the want of gene
rous onion-soups and broiled steaks!
Becky was rich aye, aye, old rooms
[umbered with antique but costly furni
ture, mysterious caskets standing upon
picturesque sideboards of black ma
hogany, great monsters of chests,
stowed away beneath canopied bed
steads, ribbed with bra^s bands, and
corded with thick ropes, all bore wit-

170

THE FORGER.

ness of Becky s hidden plate and
doubloons. Becky was capricious to
a fault ; had she been a little younger,
and worn blue stockings, and talked
dictionary, she would have been term
ed a genius, and her whims would
have assumed the shape of amiable
eccentricities, peculiar to a gifted mind.
Becky had four cats and a parrot, by
way of agreeable companions, on whom
she was wont to bestow her daily in
vestments of good humor, which, as
the reader may judge, were sometimes
remarkably limited in their nature;
while she kept her Irish female servant
as a sort of safety valve for all her
vapors, spites, animosities, and what
was worse than all, her reminiscences
of her five husbands, Buddy, Crank,
YjDulpins, Smolby and Tuppick.

How Becky made all her money
was a mystery. The Tariff, Free
Trade, or even the grand question,
* what ever became of the funds of the
United States Bank, were nothing to
it. Some said she had saved it in the
course of matrimonial experience, by
stinting her five husbands ; some
averred she had made it by trading at
sea, to Europe and the Indies ; others
stated that it had been slowly gather
ed at home, in the legitimate exercise
T&gt;f a profession, which may be dignified
by the name of the Mum-Mum trade.

For instance, a gentleman on whose
back a seedy coat hung very lightly,
in comparison with the firm grasp of
Hard-times (a modern deity) which
was ever on his shoulder, pressing
him steadily down, some day or other
became possessed of a watch, or a few
dozen spoons, or a piece of gold plate,
ull in a sudden and mysterious man
ner. These costly articles, the gen

tleman aforesaid, being modest in his
disposition, and not disposed to aristo
cratic ostentation, would transfer to
Becky, for a few hard dollars, or per
haps a gold eagle or two. While the
transfer was going on, the gentleman
placing his finger to his lips, would
whisper mysteriously the monosylla
ble, Mum, to which Becky would re
ply with equal brevity and point Mum
wherefore the transfer was known
as the Mum-Mum trade.

By some means or other, either by
the sea trade, or the Mum-Mum trade,
or by stinting her five husbands, Becky
Smolby had acquired various stores
of gold and silver plate, great cheste
full of every thing valuable, together
with four or five houses, and a small
court, located in one of the purlieus of
Southwark. Becky was rich, crusty
and ancient; and Becky, in her old
age, had joined a conventicle, which
flourished under the pastoral care of
the Rev. Dr. F. Altamont T. Pyne,
one of those independent gentlemen
who saving souls on their own parti
cular hook, acquire their degrees from
some unknown college, and holr 1 , forth
in some dark alley, two stories up
stairs, where they preach brimstone,
turpentine and Millerism, in large
instalments, according to the taste of
their hearers.*

* For the religion of Jesus Christ, our Sa
vior and Intercessor, the author of this work
has a fixed love and reverential awe. For the

mposture and trickery of the various modern
copies of Simon Magus, (who went about
casting out devils in the name of the Lord,
all for hire,) whether they take the shape of
ranting Millerites, intemperate Temperance

ecturers, or Reverend politicians, the a
does entertain the most intolerable disgust and

oathing. The first make maniacs, the second
make drunkards, the last make infidels.

THE GOLD WATCH.

171

" Well, well," cried Luke, as he
gazed upon the front of the old house.
" The old lady has always passed for
my aunt the man in the moon knows
whether Fm related to her at all ! At
all events I ll go in and see her."

He gave a slight tap with the
knocker.

In a large room, furnished in an
old fashioned style, sate the ancient
lady, bending over a small table, on
which was placed two lighted candles,
flinging their glaring light full in her
withered face.

Opposite the old lady, sate a gen
tleman of some forty-five, resting in a
capacious arm-chair, his corpulent
form clad in glossy broadcloth, while
his round face, of oily sweetness, was
strikingly relieved by the snow-white
cravat encircling his neck. The sharp
features of the old lady, all their harsh
ness of outline, thrown out into the
light by the tight-fitting black silk
cap which covered her head, were im
pressed with peculiar and distinctive
characteristics. A long aquiline nose,
hooked like an eagle s beak, thick
grey eyebrows meeting together and
shooting up \ato the forehead at either
extremity like two sides of a triangle ;
small dark eyes, quick, piercing and
brilliant in their glance ; a wide mouth
with thin lips, much sunken from the
absence of teeth ; a pointed chin and
high cheekbones ; a. gave a stern and
decided expression to the countenance
of the aged dame, which was in strong
contrast with the oily sweetness of the
round face, whose large grey eyes
were gazing in her own. N

TThe Reverend Dr. Pyne; who sate
opposite commonly called Fat Pyne,

from the initials of his name, or his
peculiar disposition to blaze up in hid
sermons was a fine specimen of a
well-preserved dealer in popular credu
lity. A red, round face, with thick
lips, watery grey eyes, and lanky hair,
of a doubtful color, mingling white
and brown, and hanging in uneven
masses around the outline of his vis
age, formed the details of a counte
nance very sanctimonious and some
what sensual in its slightest expres-
sion.j

" Trouble brother Pyne, nothin but
trouble in this blessed world," said the
widow Smolby, bending over the
small work-stand which separated the
parties. " Only to think o it ! This
very mornin I was sittin up stairs in
the back room, with Wes on one side
and Nappy on t other, when I heard
a knock at the front door. D ye
mind ? Ike was a sittin in one cor
ner; Washy was cardin wool near
the fire ; Abe was hanging up against
the winder, when I hears a knock
at the front door "

" I didn t know that the old lady s
family was so extensive!" muttered
the Rev. Dr. Pyne "Ike, Washy,
Nappy, Wes and Abe ! Hired men I
suppose "

"Peggy Grud that s the young
woman who lives with me, you know ?
She goes to the front door and lets in
a little hump-backed Jew, who wanted
to sell me a gold watch. Ike was a
spinnin near the fire, as I heered the
Jew s voice below, and Abe was a-hol-
lerin murder with all his might, when
I comes down stairs Now you know,
Brother Pyne, that a poor lone widow
woman like me, ought to turn an
honest penny whenever she can, and

172

THE FORGER.

so. cordingly, I buys watches when
ever opportoonity offers "

"He that provideth not for his own
house is worse than an infidel "
said Brother Pyne, with great oilyness
of manner.

"Considerable. Well, the Jew hands
me the the gold watch and I goes up
stairs to compare it with some time
pieces I has on hand. Abe was a-hol-
lerin murder all the while, and Wash
ington carded wool with all his might.
Napoleon looked in my face as I com
pared the watch with another one, jist
as if he d say d * take care old woman,
somethin s wrong about this house, I
do say. Down stairs I comes, con-
siderin the price o th watch over in
my mind, when I diskivered that the
Jew was gone ! I say " she cried,
elevating her voice into a shriek " I
diskivered that the Jew was gone !"

"And left his watch with you?
Surely, Sister, this was not the act of
a Jew"

" D ye see that little drawer, in the
old sideboard yonder ? D ye see the
keys a-hanging in the keyhole ? When
I went up stairs I left the keys in the
keyhole, jist as they are now when
I came down, the keys was jist the
same as ever, but five thousand dol
lars in gold, which I, a poor lone wo
man, had saved up from five husbands,
was gone ! The Jew took em ! I m
ruined ! I m ruined ! Oh, Lor ! Oh,
Lor ! And Abe a hollerin murder
all the while"

" He cried murder, did he ? What
could have induced Abel "

" It ain t Abel " said the old wo
man, sharply "It s Abraham. I
named him arter the First Patriarch.
Washy I named arter Washington ;

Nappy, after Napoleon; Ike, arter
Isaac son o Abraham, which was the
son of Heber; and Wes, arter the
great and good, Wesley "

" Bless me Sister, what a numerous
family ! Your grand-children I per-
ceive ?"

" Grand-children ! Och, pelt me
to pieces wid thimbles! They ain t
no grand-childer ; only four cats an
a parrit "

" Now Peggy Grund, who told you
to put in your sixpence?" said the old
woman, turning sharply round to the
new-comer, who stood in the doorway
" Bless my soul, if you ain t more
pervokin nor bad bank-stock !"

" Put in my sixpence, indade ! And
you sellin your soul to the devil for
yer cats and yer parrit! Twist the
necks ov em ! Wouldn t I, if I had
my will o th creeturs !"

Peggy Grud, who had suddenly ap
peared in the doorway of the room,
was a tall, stout Irishwoman, coarsely
clad, with large hands, and a withered
face looking as though it had been
scorched in some fire and hardened to
the dryness of an Egyptian mummy
surrounded by an immense cotton
night-cap, adorned with colossial ruf
fles.

" And Abe was a-hollerin murder
all the while"

" Excuse me, Sister," said the Rev.
Dr. Pyne, arising ; " If I name the
object which brought me here. I came
on an errand of mercy. I have noticed
you, sister, again and again, mingling
with the crowd which weekly fills my
church ; jthe^Church ofTrue Believers
and Free Repenters, conducted by
Providence s blissful permission, by
the Rev. Dr. Pyne, up Dorkloy s

THE GOLD WATCH

173

court, second story, brick building to
the right. Sister, is it not a comfort
for you to think, that however hard
the times may be, there is one thing
cheap very cheap "

"And that s mackerel!" said the
widow Smolby, with a delighted smile
" Mackerel is cheap ! I ll stick to
to that two small uns for a fip ]
Yes, yes, mackerel is cheap "

" No, sister, you mistake me. I
meant grace, sister, grace. And talk
ing of grace, sister, if you have any
small sum about you, which you
would like to invest in a Heavenly
Bank, here is an opportunity which
should not be slighted. A poor man,
sister, with a wife and seven small
children to support, has met with a
sad accident. Ascending a scaffold
with a hod on his shoulder, he fell
from the height of five stories, laming
a negro sweep who was passing at the
time, and injuring a school boy for
life. He fell upon them both, sis
ter"

" I say Aunty, let s have a look, at
that watch " said a voice proceeding
from the doorway, occupied by the
form of Peggy Grud " Let s see the
trinket any how."

Luke Harvey advanced toward the
light, his jaws enveloped in a kerchief
of burning red, which gave a singular
and flaming effect, to his entire ap
pearance.

" My nevey, Brother Pyne "

" Bah !" ejaculated Luke in a whis
per intended for the reverend gentle
man s ears "You can t come it, Fat
Pyne."

" Have you a small sum about you,
*ay five dollars or ten, which you
would like to invest in a Heavenly

Bank?" said the Rev. Dr. in a re
markably bland whisper.

" Heavenly Bank !" echoed Luke
" Monk-Hall for instance 1"

"Monk Luke!"

The reverend gentleman turned
aside, and spiritualized a whistle ; 01
in plainer English, puckered up his
mouth, as though he was about to per
form a lively air, while a faint sound,
like a sigh, was all that escaped his
lips.

" I say Aunt," exclaimed Luke
" This Jew must have had some ac
complice in the house. Otherwise how
could he know, that you had five
thousand dollars in yonder drawer?"

"Troth and so he must!" said
Peggy Grud " He must have had an
accomplish shure !"

" That s jist what I was a-goin to
tell Brother Pyne," exclaimed the old
lady rising to her feet " Three days
ago, there comes, to my house a poor
girl, without cloak, bonnet or shoes,
a-beggin me to take her in for God s
sake, for somebody was pursuin her,
and a-goin to murder her, an what
not ! I took her in ; though she would
not tell me her name ; I took her in,
gave her bread to eat, and a bed to
sleep on here s my thanks I say,
here s my thanks !"

" Ha ! This is singular !" exclaimed
Dr. Pyne, his red face turning sud
denly pale "Has the girl dark, very
dark hair, and dark eyes ? I merely
ask from curiosity?"

. Black as your hat!" vociferated
the Widow Smolby with vehemence
" Black as your hat "

" Very pale in the face ?" said the
worthy Dr. in a suggestive tone.

" A freshly white-washed wall aim

.74

THE FORGER

no paler !" responded the Widow
S mo I by.

" And you suspect that this girl
was a spy, introduced into your house
by the Jew in order to accomplish the
robbery of your five thousand dollars?"
asked Luke, in a quiet tone.

" Don t I? Ain t I a-goin to give
her up to justice in an hour 1 Have
n t I penned her up, in the room,
^hich has nt been opened for these
seventeen years? The Ghost-Room
as Peggy Grud calls it ! To think
that I should outlive five husbands,
Buddy, Crank, Dul Dul I say Peg,
what was my third husband s name?"
" Dulphins av it plase ye ma am !"
"Ye see Brother Pyne, I hadn t
that one more than three months, so I
sometimes forgits his name. Buddy,
Crank, Dulphins, Tuppick, and Smol-
by ; five husbands in all. To think
that I I should What was I goin
to say Peg?"

" To think that you should outlive
five husband s, and be robbed afther
all in this murtherin manner !"

" Jist so. And afore an hour goes
over my head, this girl, shall be placed
in the keer of Alderman Tallowdocket,
that she shall. I ll have justice !"

f" Justice, and in the Quaker City !"
said Luke, with a quiet sneer, as fold
ing his arms across his breast, he
gazed from face to face " Justice and
in the Quaker City ! A Strange Mon
ster I trow ! One moment it unbolts
the doors of the prison, and bids the
Bank-Director, who boasts his ten
thousand victims, whose ears ring for
ever with the curses of the Widow and
(he Orphan, it bids the honest Bank-
Director, go forth ! The next moment
it bults and seals fhose very prison

doors, upon the poor devil, who has
stolen a loaf of bread to save himself
from starvation ! One day it stands
grimly smiling while a mob fires a
Church or sacks a Hall, the next, ha,
ha, ha, it hurries from its impartial
throne, and pastes its placards over
the walls of a Theatre, stating in pom-
pous words, and big capitals, that
THE TRUTH must not be told in
Philadelphia rf

" My frieno, you are severe upon
the * proper authorities, " exclaimed F.
Altamont T. Pyne, (Pastor of the
church of True Believers and Free
Repenters,) with great suavity of man
ner. " Take care ? There are muz
zles, and prisons, and fines, for those
who speak thus !"

" Justice in the Quaker City ! Sup
pose the Almighty God, should hold a
Court one day, and try the Justice of
the Quaker City, by his impartial law
Ha, ha, ha! What a band of wit
nesses would come thronging to that
solemn bar, c Come into court, old
Stephen Girard ; come into court with
your will in hand that will which
bequeathed your enormous wealth tc
the white mail orphans of the past, the
^resent, of generations yet unborn ;
come into court, and testify ! What
say you of Quaker City justice ? _JLa_
your College built ? Has a single or
phan been fed, clothed, or educated at
your expense, or with your money 1
Come into court, widows and orphans
&gt;eggared by the frauds of bank direc-
;ors, come into court, in your rags and
misery ; come, and testify : That think
you of Justice, as she holds the scales
n Philadelphia ? Come into court.
Religion, and point to your churches
n ruins ! Come into court, Humanity

THE GOLD WATCH.

irs

and point to the blackened ashes of the
Asylum, the School House, and the
Hall ! Come into court, one and all !
What think ye of Quaker City Jus
tice? Quaker City justice ! cries old
Stephen Girard. Where is my Col
lege ? A generation has past away
since my death ; where is my College,
where is my money V Quaker City
Justice !" shout the widows and the
orphans. 4 By its decision we walk
in penury and rags, while the bank
director, who robbed us, rides in his
coach-and-four. Then, in God s
name, what has this solemn mockery,
Justice in the Quaker City, ever ac
complished ?* It has laughed plea
santly while riot after riot, went howl
ing through the town ; it has chuck
led gaily as it bade assassin after as
sassin, go scatheless from its bar ; it
has grown violent in glee, as it beheld
its judical halls, soiled by the footsteps
of corruption ; and, now and then, it
has crept from off its lazar-throne,
and arrested an editor who raised his
voice for the right ; or stopped a play,
that dared speak out for the truth !"*

* Luke Harvey, in his usual sneering style,
deals not only in gross anachronisms but in
arrant falsehoods. In order that the readers
of this book, at a distance from Philadelphia.,
may not be deceived by Luke s anti-Phila
delphia tirade, we deem it proper to state a
few facts. Girard College has been built for
years, and has been the home of some thou
sand orphans, who have been fed, clothed,
and educated, at the expense of good old
Stephen. Every body knows this to be true.
Bank directors are always convicted in Phila
delphia, when tried for robbing widows and
orphans. Widows and orphans, plundered
by bank directors, never starve in Philadel
phia. The Quaker city is too charitable for
that. Churches have never been burned in
Philadelphia. Nor halls fired, nor orphans
isylums sacked, nor school houses, given up
to * tnob. Not in the least. The play of an
12

" Well, well, Luke, ain t you most
out o breath?" said the Widow Smol-
by, rubbing her hands together. " But
that ain t nayther here nor there.
Afore an hour goes over my head, thia
gal, who is now up stairs, in the Ghost
Room, shall be tuk to Alderman Tal-
lowdocket s, and bound over for this
4 ere robbery. "

" Could I see the young lady for a
few moments, alone?" said Dr. Pyne,
with his usual bland smile. " It would
be such a comfort to tell her, that in
the next world, she ll be burned up
forever and ever. It would, indeed."

" I spect you carit see her, bro
ther. I d rather not. Come this
way, Luke, and I ll show you the
watch."

The old lady led the way up two
pair of dark stairs, followed by Luke.
In a few moments, they stood in a
large room, on the third floor, whose
outlines, Luke might dimly discern by
the glimmer of the candle, which the
old lady grasped in her hand, k was
wide and spacious, the floor covered
with carpet of an ancient though costly
pattern, while the ceiling was em
blazoned with a picture in fresco,
whose gorgeous hues had been soften
ed down by time. Massive velvet
curtains hung along the three win
dows, which, facing the street, were

author, who dared speak out for the truth, has
never been ukase-d in this city. Never. A
contemptible coalition of charlatans, have never
resorted to threats of assassination in order to
put down a work, which held them up to publie
corn. Never, never !

This is a great city, and its dignitaries are
great men, worthy of all respect.

Pity for them that their rule is so brief?
Why not have an ordinance passed by th
Councils, to make the dog days last all the
year, and forever I

17*

THE FORGER.

hermetically closed, by the boards
outside the sashes. A bed with a lofty
canopy, was in one corner ; an an
tique dressing bureau, surmounted by
a circular mirror, stood in the space
between two of the windows ; a wide
hearth, with ashes and loose pieces of
half burned wood scattered over the
bricks, extended along one entire end
of the chamber, while the wall above
the mantel, was concealed by a large
picture, set in a gorgeous frame. It
was the picture of a fair and lovely
girl, remarkable for the brilliancy of
her eyes, and the midnight blackness
of her hair.

It was a singular circumstance,
which did not escape the notice of
Luke, that the carpet was covered
with thick dust, as though it had not
been open for years, while the velvet
of the window curtains, the gilt of the
massive portrait frame, and the hang
ings of the bed, were all obscured by
the same thick, grey dust, and hung
with heavy spider webs.

"Ghost Room, indeed!" muttered
Luke ; " why look here, aunt, the car
pet is covered with dust, and the air is
damp and unwholesome as a grave
vault. What s the meaning of all
this, any how ?"

" It has not been opened since she
died, until this day !" said the Widow
Smolby, as her features, withered and
wrinkled as they were, glowed with
an expression of strange feeling.
" She died in yonder bed. I held her
in my arms. Her child lay dead upon
her bosom. Yon hearth d ye see it,
Luke ? The fire went out when she
Hied it has never been Hghted
since !"

" What mean you ?" cried Luke,

amazed at the agitation of the old wo.
man. " Ha !" he shouted, ere she
could answer his question. ** Here is
the watch on the dressing bureau ! It
is Fitz-Cowles , by my life ! The Jew
must have stolen it from him ! Fitz-
Cowles once told me, that his name
was inscribed within the case. Hold
the light while I open it, Aunt. Ha !
What is this ! A memorandum on a
slip of paper, in Fitz-Cowles hand,
inserted between the case and the
body of the watch ! In Charleston?
on such a date * Must be in Phila
delphia, on another date. * Ellis
Mortimer i ho, ho, ho ! We ve track
ed the fox at last! f Ellis Mortimer,
and the hump-backed Jew are one !
Fitz-Cowles is the master villain ! Be
fore to-morrow night, I ll have him,
ha, ha, ha, where patchvully can t
sweeten him !"

" Why, Luke, what in the world s
the matter with you !" cried the Wi
dow Smolby, in utter wonder. " You
go on like mad. Howsomever, here s
the Jew s accomplice, sleeping in the
bed ! Don t she sleep sound, for such
a guilty thief?"

Leading the way along the floor, the
old lady pushed aside the cobweb-
hung curtains, and gazed upon the
sleeper s form.

" Ha ! The dead have come to
life !" She shrieked, starting back
ward. " It is not the stranger ; it is
my daughter, just as she looked nine
teen years ago, when she was pure
and innocent ! Look, Luke ; look, I
say ! That pale face, that long dark
hair, that iily white hand ! I d swear
k was my daughter come to life !"

Advancing to the bedside, Luke
gazed upon the sleeper s form, as it

THE GOLD WATCH

177

Jay dimly disclosed by the light of the
flickering candle.

The face of a fair young girl, re
lieved by long tresses of jet-black
hair, broke like a dream upon his
gaze. True it was, the young form,
thrown aiong the bed, in an attitude
of slumber, was clad in a dress of
tattered rags, yet the outline of a
figure ripening from the bud of maid
enhood into the bloom of beauty and
womanhood, might be discerned, be
neath the disguise of mean apparel ;
true it was, the face, pale as death,
bore the traces of a long life of sorrow,
yet were the features regular, the dark
eyebrows, penciled and arching, the
brow was calm and white, full of the
silent grandeur of intellect, while the
rounded outline of the cheeks, the
fulness of the pouting lips, and the
dimple of the chin, all bespoke the
youth and loveliness of the sleeper.

" Thus nineteen years ago, she lay
upon that bed! My only daughter!
Seventeen years ago, upon that bed,
she breathed her last ! Since that
hour, the light of day has not shown
within the walls of this house ! Since
that hour I have not stepped beyond
the threshold of my home ! And now
now she has arisen from the dead!"

" And this," cried Luke, gazing in
silent wonder upon the pale yet beau
tiful face of the sleeper, " this is the
accomplice of the Jew !"

Luke s exclamation aroused the
old woman from her waking dream.
Her daughter, for whom she had
mourned so long, was forgotten when
she remembered the five thousand dol-
?irs stolen from her house that very

orning by the Jew, whose accom-

^e lay sleeping on the bed.

" The huzzy !" she cried, shaking
her fist at the form of the unconscious
girl " To steal my hard earnings, and
arter I d given her a home and a bed,
without so much as axing her name !
But I ll have justice! That I will,
Luke ! To jail with the trollop 1"

" I tell you what it is Aunt " ex
claimed Luke, with his gaze rivetted
to the face of the lovely girl " Pro
mise me that you will not consign this
child to the care of the Police until to
morrow morning, and I give you my
word, that before sunrise your five
thousand dollars shall be safe in your
hands again !"

" You never yet broke your word
to me, Luke ! You re got my promise.
But mind you keep yours ! Hush !
She wakes !"

The lids of the sleeper, fringed with
long dark lashes, slowly unclosed, and
her eyes, large, dark and brilliant
gazed wonderingly around. -In a mo
ment the glance of wonder changed
to one of the deepest terror.

"Mr FATHER!" she shrieked,
starting up in the bed and gazing
fixedly over Luke s shoulder.

Luke turned hastily around. The
Rev. Dr. Pyne stood by his side with
his smooth face all radiant with an
xpression whose doubtful meaning of
malignancy and triumph Luke found
it difficult to fathom.

" MY FATHER !" again shrieked the
rirl, crouching up in the bed, with her
imbs all huddled together as though
she anticipated a violent blow.

" My child, you please me " said
Brother Pyne, mildly. " You recog
nize your parent. You repent your
ate flight from his roof? You will
return to your home ?"

178

THE FORGER.

" To uie prison !" shrieked the girl ;
" to the cell, to the gibbet, anywhere
you please, but not to him! For
God s sake, good woman, do with me
what you will, but save me from his
power ! He is my father, but sooner
than return to his roof again, I would
drag out the life of a convict within a
dungeon s walls, I would beg my bread
on the highway, I would I would
Stand back from the bedside ! Back !
Back, I say, or you will drive me
mad ! Ah ! Ah ! I see it all again !
That scene the night I fled from your
roof! Oh God, oh God !"

She fell prostrate on the bed, her
limbs writhing in a convulsive spasm,
while her cheek grew like death, and
the white foam hung on her livid lips.

CHAPTER SIXTH.

THB POISON OF CATHARINE DE
MEDICIS.

"Tnis, you see, is my Museum.
My Museum, Livingstone ! A little
of every thing from all parts of the
world. In that jar a negro* child with
two heads. Preserved in spirits. Capi
tal specimen of a double-headed negro.
Ought to have been at Hall this morn
ing; cut off a poor fellows arm. Took
it quite lively. Henry Clay seen
my blood horse, Henry Clay ? Splen
did creature, capital action, glorious
gait. Paid eight hundred for him.
Make a good President ; in favor of
the Tariff; chivalrous fellow. Got a
soul, Livingstone, a soul, I say, and
a big soul it is, too !"

** Which do YOU mean, McTorni-

quet-
man

the blood-horse or tne stairs

" Ah ! Hum ! You re disposed to
be jocular! Why the fact is, I m
such an admirer of the statesman,
that whenever I begin with praising
the horse I m sure to slide into an ex
pression of feeling with regard to the
man. Singular specimen of an arm,
that. In that long jar. Took it off
the body of a man who was hung for
robbing the mail. Hand had seven
fingers. By-the-bye, did you hear
that Henry Clay won the purse at the
last races ? He didn t run \\efew !
All stuff about that duel with Ran
dolph ! Randolph came on the field
in a morning-gown ! Who the d .
ever heard of fighting a duel in that
way ? Pshaw !"

" By-the-bye, Doctor, what erro
neous notions have come down to our
time, with regard to Poisons ! Now,
some credulous historians would have
us believe that in the time of Catha
rine De Medicis the art of poisoning
was carried to such perfection that a
feather, a glove, or a perfume, impreg
nated with a chemical preparation,
would send the victim quietly to his
long home. All fudge isn t it Doc
tor?"

" Fudge ?" echoed Doctor McTorni-
quet, raising his tall form to its ex
treme heighth, while his long black
morning gown floated loosely round
his spare limbs "Fudge! Let me
tell you, Livingstone, that I have de
voted some small portion of my time
to the study of Chemistry. Its very
well to encourage the idea that
these legends about Catharine De
Medicis poisons are all fudge for,
were the truth known, there would be

THE POISON OF CATHARINE DE MEDICIS.

an end of all civilized society. Do
vou know that there are poisons so
itealthy and subtle in their operations,
ihat the minutest particle infused into
a drink, mingled with food, laid gently
on the victims lips, will produce in
stantaneous death ?"

" But such a death will be attended
with marks of violence?"

" Not a bit of it, Livingstone ! No
mark of violence, no sign of murder
attests the manner of the death. The
victim lays as though he (or she) had
but fallen asleep. What d ye suppose
would be the consequence, were these
chemical secrets made known?"

" Very disastrous, I presume "

" Just fancy what a world it would
make ! A lawyer picks a quarrel
with a judge, and sends him to Heaven
with a whiff of a perfume. Two clergy
men disagree on matters of controver
sial divinity one makes the other a
present of a pair of gloves ! W-h-ew !
He s gone ! A lady jilts her lover
he sends her a magnificent Bird of
Paradise, tipped with poison ! The
lady jilts no more lovers ! Two candi
dates are running for office one puts a
pill in t other s brandy, and kills him
off, on the eve of th lection. Delight
ful world it would make ! Tom poisons
Dick ; Dick poisons Harry ; Harry
poisons his wife, and his wife poisons
the d 1 knows who !"

"You ve a very poor opinion of
human nature, McTorniquet ?"

" You ve hit it ! Its a way we doc
tors have. God Almighty trusts us
with very little knowledge of the grand
mysteries of nature, for fear we ll
abuse our gift. Why Livingstone,
d ye know that were this secret and
most ?ubtle poison generally known,

half the men in town would give their
wives an eternal leave of absence?
And vice versa. Precious world we d
have !"

" Ha, ha, ha, Doctor ! You take
such an original view of things ! By-
the-bye, have you seen my wife this
morning? Did she expect me back
from New York so soon ?"

" Saw Mrs. Livingstone this morn
ing, and cautioned her about your dis
ease. Egad Albert, you must be very
careful ! Ticklish d.sease that ! One
moment lively as a bird ; the next,
stiff as a poker! Have you seen
Harry Clay lately? Grand speech
that : his farewell to the Senate ! Wait
a moment and I ll go round to the sta
ble and order the servant to trot him
out. Would you like to see a manu-
script volume of mine, on the Theory
of Poisons? Here it is in this Cabinet.
Just take a peep at it while I run round
and have Henry Clay brought to the
front door. Put it back in the Cabinet
when you ve gratified your curiosity.
Back in a minute, Livingstone !"

Livingstone took the small volume
of manuscript in his hand and eagerly
turned over the leaves. He was alone.
He stood in McTorniquet s Museum,
surrounded by shelves piled with sur
gical curiosities, preserved in jars, or
hanging by parti-colored strings, or,
yet again, huddled carelessly together.
The very air was reminiscent of the
scalpel and the torniquet. Dead men
in fragments, in great pieces and little,
in all shapes and every form, wero
scattered around. In the full light
of the window, fashioned in the ceiling
of the room, stood a grisly skeleton,
one hand placed on his thigh-bone
while the other, with the fingers stuck

ISO

THE FORGER.

in the cavity of the nose, seemed per
forming the stale jest, common with
he boys along the street. "You
can t come it Mister, by no manner o
means !" that gesture said, as plainly
as a skeleton s gesture can say.

" In the days of Catharine De
Medicis " murmured Livingstone,
reading from the manuscript volume
" There was prepared by her com
mand, a poison, combining in its na
ture, the most deadly chemical attri
butes. This poison laid its victim
down in the sleep of death without a
mark of violence, without the slightest
sign of murder, to tell the tale of an
untimely death. Subtle and penetra
ting in its nature, most fearfully op
posed to the Principle of life, in its
mildest form ; this poison was pre
pared by the Alchemist Ellarbin
D Zoisboigne , after the study of
years passed in searching for the
Grand Secret, the Water of Life.
The Alchemist sold the poison to the
Queen, for the price of ene of her
royal jewels. Secure of the deadly
preparation, and aware of the manner
in which it was to be used, the Queen
determined that the secret of its com
position should rest with her alone.
The Alchemist was her first victim.
Among various strange legends of
medical lore, the poison, its various
qualities, and the secret of its prepa
ration, have descended to modern
times. It is prepared thus 51

Livingstone paused. The terrible
idea which had rested upon his brain,
since the scene of the past night,
now began to take form and shape.
He saw the horrible path which he
was doomed to tread, more clearly
and distinctly in its minutest windings.

He listened intently for a singia
moment. There was no sound of the
Doctor s returning footstep. The
Museum was still as the grave. And
yet, as the fatal idea rose blackening
Livingstone s brain, with all its details
of horror, the very air of the room
grew stifling, and he could distinctly
hear the beatings of his own heart.

Ere another moment passed, seizing
a lancet which lay on an adjoining
shelf, with a calm and cautious move
ment, Livingstone severed the leaf,
which he had just read, from the
manuscript volume, and folding it in
letter form, placed it within the breast
of his overcoat.

" Close to the keepsakes next to
my heart !" he grimly smiled, as he
placed the manuscript volume in the
cabinet again "Three days ago, I
little dreamed that Catharine De Medi
cis would become serviceable to me !"

He quietly passed from the room
and from the house. Hurrying along
the crowded street, in the course of
fifteen minutes he arrived before his
stately mansion. At the very door he
was met by Luke Harvey, who had
just returned from his visit to the
widow Smolby s house.

" Is it noon " exclaimed Luke,
with a quiet smile " Here are the
fruits of my morning s labors !"

He placed in the Merchant s hands
he memorandum which he had taken
from the stolen watch.

Livingstone started, but in an instant
recovered the fearful composure whicn
had marked his demeanor since the
fatal scene at Monk-Hall.

" I bear it well ? Do I not, Luke ?
be calmly exclaimed. "So,.-so! He
s-noJLpnly the the Adulterer, but

THE POISON OF CATHARINE DE MEDICLJ.

the Swindle^ and Forger! We can
settle both accounts at once !"

There is enough in that slight
memorandum to excite suspicion,"
exclaimed Luke, " but not enough to
produce conviction. Leave the mat
ter in my hands, and before Friday
night that s to-morrow the fellow
will be in the hands of the police."

" To-morrow morning Dora and I
start for Hawkwood " replied Liv
ingstone, with a slight smile " By-
the-bye, while you are procuring the
necessary documents for the convic
tion of the forger, we must be sure
that he does not leave the city. Ha,
ha ! I have it ! Let us walk down
the street while I let you into my
plans."

They were walking down the street,
whispering earnestly together, when
a hand was laid upon Livingstone s
shoulder.

" Look here, Curnel you don t
forgit old friends, do you ?" said a
bluff voice, which sounded very much
like the deep bass of an oysterman.

" Why, Larkspur, is that you ? I d
scarcely have known you ! Why,
what s the matter with you ?"

"Nothin much. Only there was
a change in the admineystration.
Easy Larkspur was turned out. Kon-
sekence is, he persents a pictur for the
portrait painter, and the daily papers.
Does not he ?"

Easy Larkspur, as the new comer
was styled, certainly presented a pic
ture, and a very remarkable picture it
was, too. He was a short, stout man,
with broad shoulders, and a tolerably
corpulent person. His face was re
markable for its crimson hue, and its
immensity of jaw or cheek, as the

reader pleases. His cost .-.me was at
once picturesque and simple. A short
gray roundabout, exhibiting glimpses
of a saffron shirt, at the elbows, and
buttoned up to the neck across his
muscular chest ; corduroy trowsers,
reaching to the calf, agreeably varie
gated with patches of various colors,
and a pair of shoes, rather the worse
for the wear, with the heels worn
away all at one side, and picturesque
crevices near the toes. Easy Lark
spur wore no stockings. Such things
as stockings had been invented long
after man had departed from his pri
mitive simplicity of manners ; Easy
Larkspur was above wearing stock
ings. The hat which surmounted Mr.
Larkspur s broad face, was quite a
curiosity in its way. In material it
was rather flimsy, being fashioned
of common straw ; in shape it was
singular, bearing a strong resem
blance, to nothing in heaven above, or
on earth beneath, or in the waters
under the earth. Speculative people
would have called it a shocking bad
hat. You might have fallen down
and worshipped it, without any viola
tion of the commandment. The pic
turesque appearance of the hat was
rather increased by a glimpse of a
dingy red handkerchief, which peeped
from the crevices of the crown, like a
quiet observer, taking a view of the
world, from a favorable elevation.

" Why, Larkspur, where have you
been all this while ?"

" Two years ago, I was turned out
of the Police. Since that time I ve
been perambulating the continent.
Part of the time, as a Tuppy graphical
ingineer ; I carried the chain on the
railroad. Part of the time, I was in-

J82

THE FORGER.

gaged in the mercantile marine ser
vice : drove the horse on the canavvl.
I attributes the present depression of
my funds to the cursed Whig tariff of
42. It must be tint ; for, deuce take
me, if I know what else it can be !"

" Larkspur, would you like to earn
a hundred dollars ?"

" Jist try me. I m putty desp rate
now, I tell you. I might accept."

" Could you assume the manners
of a Soutnern planter?"

" What d ye mean ? Swear a few
big oaths, carry a Bowie knife, and
talk about my niggers ? I jist could
do that, and nothing else."

"Go down to my store, in Front
street, Larkspur, and wait for me,"
said Livingstone, turning toward his
mansion again. " Luke, attend to
the accomplice of the Forger, in the
den of Monk-Hall. I ll see that the
Forger himself does not leave the
city."

It was in this state of mind, with
his plans of vengeance fully matured,
and his soul determined upon the pro
secution of those plans, that Living
stone sought the presence of his wife,
and passed through the scene in her
boudoir, which we have already de
scribed.*

" The girl is beautiful" Luke so
liloquized as Livingstone and Larkspur
passed on their separate ways, leaving
him alone in the street. "Beautiful
as a dream ! Pshaw, Luke, this folly
ought not to move you again ! Jilted
once, and again in love ! and with
whom 1 A nobody, who, coming from
nowhere, knocks at old Widow Smol-
by s door, and begs admittance, but

See Chapter Fourth Dora Livingstone

won t give her name ! Fat Pyne, her
father too hum that s suspicious,
to say the least ! Aunt Smolby, pro
mised that the girl should noi leave
her roof, until she heard from me.
There s mystery about the thing, take
it as you will, and so as I said last
night when hurrying down this very
street I say now ! To Monk-Hall 1"

CHAPTER SEVENTH.
THE COUNCIL OF WAR.

" I HAVE gathered the fruit, and it
is ashes !"

Lorrimer was alone in the Rose
Chamber. The light of the candle,
fast waning to the socket, streamed in
fitful flashes over his wan and pallid
face. Thus had he sate for hours, his
arms crossed over his breast, his face
drooped low on his clasped hands,
while his hazel eyes glanced vacantly
in the flickering light form beneath the
shadow of his corrugated brows. Thus
had he sate, while the morning dawn
ed over river, and steeple, and roof j
and as the day wore on, filling the
darkest nooks and avenues of the old
city with the noonday beams of the
winter sun, he remained silent and
alone, stricken with a strange apathy
his very soul impressed with a fea: ,
whose nature he might not analyze,
and his heart imbued with a terrible
remorse for the irreparable wrong.

" I have gathered the fruit and it is
ashes !" he murmured " Oh, would
to heaven, that before the commission
of this wrong, I had known my heart !
Would that I had felt, twelve hours

THE COUNCIL OF WAR.

183

ago, now dear this girl would have
been to me as a wife ! How she
would have wound herself into my
heart, and grown into my very exis
tence ; the life of my life, and of my
^oul, a better and a purer soul !
Curses, eternal curses upon the creed
of the heart-cankered worldling which
has dragged Mary to ruin, and which
will ha, ha, ha within a few brief
days, hasten her wronger to an un
timely and unwept death !"

" Death ?" echoed a hoarse voice
"Short word that, but good as a
med cin to cure some disorders ! I
say Monk Gusty, what shall we do
with the feller?"

"With Byrnewood " muttered
Lorrimer, turning his head slowly
round and gazing upon the form of
Devil Bug, who stood at his side, with
his usual hideous grin " With Byrne-
wood, you mean ?"

" With Byrnewood or the feller, jist
as you like ! About these times I kon-
siders him a putty disagreeable feller,
I does that ! He s a-layin on the floor
of the Walnut Room, half dead with
opium, and all sorts o drugs ! He
won t come to his senses for hours
yet. But Gusty, what shall we do
with him, when he does come to his
senses. That s the pint which I wants
to argur !"

" And the gal, what shall we do
with the gal ?" interrupted a voice pro
ceeding from the other side of the
room " She s been sleepin in the
Painted Chamber ever since daylight.
At fust she took on considerable, but
a drop o laud num in her coffee set
tled that business! What shall I tell
her ven she vakes ?"

Mother Nancy, with her sharp fea

tures and colloped cheeks twisted into
an expression of sneering malignity,
approached Lorrimer, and laid her
withered hand upon his shoulder.

"Tell her what you please, but
leave me to myself!" and as Lorri
mer spoke, his brow darkened with
a frown, " and Devil-Bug, mark me
I would be alone !

" Very well, ve-r-y well ! When
the feller gits over the opium, I ll axe
him down stairs very perlitely, and
tell him to dig off! Vender how that
11 vork ? He won t come back with
the poleese o course not. Monk
Gusty won t be jugged up for makin*
too free, with another man s darter?
The feller s a nateral born fool what
thinks it !"

" Come, come, young man," cried
Mother Nancy, squaring her elbows,
" it may suit you to sit here mopin
and mopin, over spilt milk, but it
don t suit me, 1 tell you ! Suppose
this young chap, Byrnewood, or
Byrnecoal, or whatever his name is,
leaves Monk-Hall, what 11 be the
konsekence ? Monk-Hall will be torn
up, root and branch, and "

" Our leetle family joys walked into
like bricks !" suggested Devil-Bug.
" Cuss that light, how it flares !"

" And what remedy do you pro
pose?" exclaimed Lorrimer, as his
face changed to a death-like pallor,
was illumined by a sudden glare of
light.

" I perpose to keep a tight hold on
the gal !" said Mother Nancy, with a
pleasant smile. " Nothin like bein
on the safe side ! And then, Gusty,
you can have a little bird to yerself,
all in this old cage of Monk-Hall, and
no body be the wiser !"

184

THE FORGER.

" And as for Byrne wood," suggest
ed Lorrimer, turning to Devil-Bug.

" I perpose to keep a tight hold on
him, too !"

The face of the doorkeeper of
Monk-Hall, was crossed by a hideous
smile. His solitary eye glared with
sudden intensity, and the muscles of
his countenance were agitated for a
single moment, by a violent and con
vulsive movement.

" What mean you ?" exclaimed
Lorrimer, starting with involuntary
terror, as he beheld the purpose of
Devil-Bug s soul, gleaming from his
loathsome face.

" Cuss it, how that light flickers in
the socket!" Devil-Bug calmly an
swered, raising his hand to his pro
tuberant brow, and smoothing the
matted hair to one side. " What do
I mean ?" he continued gazing at Lor-
rime: through the outspread fingers of
his hand " Nothin o konsekence !
Only the young feller will not come
to his senses, till long arter dark, and
then and then cuss the light, it s
gone out !"

The libertine and his minions were
enveloped in sudden darkness.

CHAPTER EIGHTH.
MAJOR RAPPAHANNOCK MULHILL.

ARRAYED in all the paraphernalia)
,jf his walking costume*, Fitz-Cowles
was threading his way among the
crowd of loiterers, who daily occupy
the pavement in front of Independence
Hall. His brow was clouded by a
. &lt;*nd once or twice, as he walked

along, he allowed his gold-headed
cane to fall on the hard bricks, with a
ringing sound. It was evident thaf
the gallant Colonel, in all the glory
of his original hat, his tight-fitting
overcoat, his long dark hair, his white
kid gloves, and gold-headed cane, was
still somewhat ruffled in temper, and
disturbed in soul.

" This woman !" he muttered,
" Gad I never knew her match !
Bold, reckless, and dangerous ! I
must take care ! Dora, with her im
prudence, may frustrate all my
schemes, and scatter my fortunes to
the wind ! I stand upon a dangerous
height ! A step higher, and I arrive
at the object of all my desires, un
limited wealth and safety ! A step
lower, a single misplaced movement,
and ugh ! The prison, the convict s
cell, and it makes my flesh creep
the lash, are mine !"j

"Ah, ha! Fitz-Cowles! I ve just
been seeking for you !"

" Is that you, Livingstone ! Which
way are you bound? Up Chesnut
street or down ?"

"Colonel Fitz-Cowles, allow me,
to make you acquainted with Major
Rappanhannock Mulhill, of Mulhill
Plantation, South Carolina. A planter
from the South, Colonel," suggested
Livingstone, in a whisper ; " rich as
Girard. Lands without limit, and a
gold mine !"

" I am proud of your acquaintance,
sir," replied Fitz-Cowles, graciously
extending his hand to the stranger.
" Queer specimen of a planter," he
muttered to himself. " Wonder if
he s keen at the cards ? I must try
him at Faro !"

" Sur ! Happy of the honor ! I like

MAJOR RAPPAHANNOCK MULHILL.

you you re of the right stripe * the
real pig, as we say at Mulhill," ob
served the Southern planter, clapping
Fitz-Cowles on the back. " May I be
cussed, Curnel, if I don t think you re
got the real allegator eye, which give
sich wiwacity to the phizzes of us
bloods, from down South !"

Col. Fitz-Cowles had seen many
queer specimens of the Southern
planter, but this gentleman was deci
dedly the queerest of all. Rappahan-
nock Mulhill, was a stout, thickset
gentleman, with a round, red face,
and a corpulent paunch. His dress
was at once singular and effective, fas
the playbills have it.&gt; A broad-
brimmed hat, of raw felt, with a
round crown, and a long blue cord, to
which was appended a tassel, that hung
drooping to the Major s shoulders. A
deep crimson velvet waistcoat, double-
breasted, and buttoned up to the
throat. Pants made very full and
wide, and striped like fancy bed -tick
ing; a sky blue coat with glaring
metal buttons ; yellow buckskin
gloves ; tight boots of patent French,
leather, and a check neckerchief, tied
in an enormous bow, and affording
free play to the colossal shirt collar,
which rose to the Major s ears. Had
you seen the Major, thus attired, walk
ing along Chesnut street, you would
have said, that there was only one
thing wanting to complete the general
finish of his appearance ; a cane of
the proper style and dimensions. This
want was supplied, by an enormous
stick or club, which the Major grasped
in his right hand. Bending in a
dozen ways, all twisted, and curled,
and knotted, it looked as though it
might have been, the root of the Ta

riff, which politicians have been en
deavoring to find for years.

" How did you leave all the folks
down South, Major ?"

" Lively" replied the Major, pull
ing up his shirt collar "Lively!
Roasted ar/ Abolitionist the day afore
I left, for tryin to steal my niggers.
Lynched a Yankee, the day afore that,
for sellin me some Jersey cider for
sham-pane ! Things is werry lively
in our diggins, jist now "

" I suppose you ve been in a few
knock-downs in your time?" observed
Fitz-Cowles condescendingly.

* Can t say much for my skill in
that line, Curnel " replied the Major,
still tugging away at his shirt collar,
while he grew suddenly red in the
face " Killed four or five fellers in a
duel. Took em one after another.
Had to pay their funeral expenses.
Very low business. The Sheriff had
the impoodence to get a warrant out,
for me. There it is I ve preserved
it to this day as a coorosity !"

" Why it looks quite fresh " ob
served Fitz-Cowles, looking at the
document which Mulhill held in his
extended hand " Very fresh, in
deed"

" Oh, that s because I have kept it
in spirits : a warrant s sich a coorosity
down South "

" Colonel, if you ll excuse me, I
wish to speak a word with the Major
before I resign him to your care.
Major will you walk this way a mo
ment "

He led the Major beyond the hear
ing of Fitz-Cowles, and glanced quiet
ly over his shoulder at the millionaire
as he spoke.

" Larkspur, how can you be so

186

THE FORGER.

hazardous !" exclaimed Livingstone
" His name on that very warrant, and
the signature of the Mayor at the bot
tom !"

" Werry true " replied Easy Lark
spur, alias Rappahannock Mulhill,
" werry true. The Ma or swore me
in as Depitty Poleesman. He, he !
The idea-r ! My comin the Southern
planter over him, when I ve got a
warrant in my pocket for his arrest !
I say, Livingstone, you re a perfect
Ericcson Perpellar for fun, you are !"

" Remember, Larkspur !" whisper
ed Livingstone, in a deep and hurried
tone " Remember the injunctions
which Mr. Harvey gave you. At
three o clock you are to leave this
civet cat, and with a dozen policemen
at ycu: ba:x. hasten down town to
the house you know the rest ? After
that business has been settled, you are
to hang on to Fitz-Cowles, until all
our plans are matured ; you under
stand?"

" Don t I ? Good mornin , Living
stone " he added aloud, as strutting
to Fitz-Cowles side, he waved his
hand to the Merchant " Call and
see us at the Ton House when you ve
time."

u What a monster !" muttered Fitz-
Cowles " Red vest and blue coat !
However, there s money to be made
by cultivating this creature. Walk
up to the Ton House, Major, and
smoke a cigar " he added aloud, in
the most insinuating tone imaginable.

" I always carries my appeyratus
with me," said the Major, taking a
box of Lucifer matches from one
pocket, and a large German pipe from
Ae other " Nothin like bein per-
vided with these things in case of ac

cident. Tain t fashionable to smoko
a pipe in Chesnut street, is it Curnel t
Never mind we re the rale alleyga-
ters we are."

And taking the Colonel s arm with-
in his own, the Major strutted down
Chesnut street, his immense pipe at
tracting the attention of all bystanders,
while Fitz-Cowles regarded both pipe
and planter with a look of smothered
disgust.

"Ha, ha, ha!" chuckled Living
stone, as he gazed after the retreating
pair "The handsome millionaire
arm in arm with a pojice officer !"

CHAPTER NINTH.

THE DEAD-VAULT OF MONK-HALL.

THE beams of the lanthern flashed
over a wide cellar, whose arched roof
was supported by massive pillars of
unplastered brick. Here and there,
as the flickering light glanced fitfully
along the dark recesses of the place,
fragments of wood might be discover-
ed, scattered carelessly around the
pillars, or thrown over the floor in
crumbling heaps.

Every moment, as the light of the
lanthern shifted from side to side,
some new wonder was discovered.
Now the solid plastering of the ceiling.
now the massive oak of the floor, no\*
the uncouth forms of the pillars with
loose bricks and crumbling pieces of
wood scattered around, and now, ag
a gleam of light shot suddenly into the
distant recesses of the cellar, a long
row of coffins might be discovered, with
the lids broken off and the bones of

THE DEAD-VAULT OF MONK-HALL.

187

the dead thrown rudely from their
last resting place.

The extent of the cellar might not
be ascertained by the uncertain light
of the lanthern. It may have been a
hundred feet in extent, or even two
hundred, but whenever the light
flared up it disclosed some dark recess,
filled with crumbling coffins, or laid
bare some obscure nook, where ghast
ly skulls and fragments of the human
skeleton, were thrown together like
old lumber in a storehouse.

Even where the lanthern stood, in
a square, described by four massive
pillars which, arising from the oaken
floor, supported the arching ceiling,
its light gleamed over a skeleton, with
the various bones separated by time,
and the jaw, with its bristling teeth,
falling apart from the blackened skull.

The sound of a footstep rung echo
ing among the arches of the cellar
with a hollow sound ; and in a mo
ment, ere the figure of the intruder
might be seen, the murmur of a hu
man voice mingled with the echo of
the footstep.

" Ha, ha, ha ! While the broad
cloth gentry of the Quaker City guz
zle their champaigne two stories above,
here, in these cozy cellars of Monk-
Hall, old Devil-Bug entertains the
thieves and cut-throats of the town
with scorchin Jamakey spirits and
raw Moneygehaley ! Hark how the
fellers laugh and shout in the next
cellar!"

And the chorus of a rude drinking
song, chaunted first by a single voice,
then echoed by a score, came faint
and murmuring through the thick
walls of the adjoining cellar.

" Let the Bank D rector swill his sha n-pane,
It s pisen d with orphan s tears

Raw Jamakey we ll drink and drink again,
For d 1 a beak we fears !"

" That s what I likes " said Devil-
Bug, as he came shuffling onwaH
into the light of the lanthern " I
usually wisits my private partments
bout once a day, just to see how the
boys gets on ! This place is what I
calls my study he, he, he ! The
Pawnbroker in the next street ain t in
partnership with me? There ain t no
secret passage under ground from his
shop to my cellars ? We don t kon-
tract to supply so many thieves an
cut-throats with vittels, lodgin and
viskey ? Them quest ins is better with
corks on it don t do for sich likker to
spill out, I tell you !"

He disappeared for a moment be
hind one of the brick pillars, and in
an instant emerged into the light
again, dragging the remnant of a
coffin at his heels.

" The genelman as used to inhabit
this konwenient winter and summer
residence, has soffened into dust. His
coffin ill sarve me for a seat. Turn
it over that s right now let me
think. Hum-hum ! Musketer, 1 say "

" Yes massa " muttered the voice
of the negro, from a distant part of the
cellar.

" If any one wants to see me, tell
Glow-worm to show em down, and
d ye hear, you brute? Do you
show em in when they are down
Devil-Bug s at home for wisiters."

" Yes massa !" muttered the negro,
from the darkness of the cellar ; and
then all was silent again.

Devil-Bug was seated upon the
coffin, with his elbows supported by

188

THE FORGER.

his knees, and his swarthy cheeks
resting on his thick and heavy fingers.
The full beams of the lanthern glared
in his face, with the matted hair hang
ing over the protuberant forehead,
while each hideous feature, the flat
nose with the wing-like nostrils, the
wide mouth with the rows of bristling
teeth, the pointed chin, rough with a
short and stubble-like beard, the eye
less socket and the solitary eye, all
were disclosed in strong and glaring
light, as the shadow of his figure
was flung like a belt of darkness along
the. floor. As he sate there, with his
face agitated, by various expressions,
all mingled with his habitual sneer
and scowl, he looked like the tutelar
Demon of that vault of Death.

" My life s been a purty quiet one,"
he soliloquized. " Not many inci
dents to tell ; passed my years in the
comfortible retiracy o domestic felli-
city, as Parson Pyne would say ! Yet
there was one adventoore in my life :
queer one, that. One stormy night,
bout seventeen year ago, there comes
to Monk-Hall, a rale bully of a feller,
with a purty gal on his arm. He
struck her a blow with his fist: I
knocked him down. Gal liked me
from that hour ha, ha, ha the
thing makes me smile ! A purty gal
in love with a handsome man like De
vil-Bug! And yit, and yit, many s
the night I ve laid at her door, a
watchin her and a-keepin harm

from her, and ho ! ho ! ho ! She

used to say she loved me cause I
did nt deceive my looks ! For one
year, me and that gal was man an
wife ! The year passed one night
she quit Monk-Hall I ain t never
heerd on her since ! And, what is a

werry rimarkible circumstance, I
never think o that gal, without m)
heart gettin soft, and the water comin
in my eyes ! If any other man would
say that o me, I d sue him r ci ^bel !
Hallo ! who s there ?"

" Monk Baltzar, massa," answered
the voice of Musquito, from a distant
recess of the cellar.

" That s Parson Pyne s slang
name !" muttered Devil -Bug. " Show
him in, Musketer !"

And in a moment, there came hur
rying from the darkness which en
veloped the distant portions of the
cellar, the figure of a man wrapped
up in a long and drooping black cloak.

" I say, Abijah, what are you doing
down here ?" he muttered in a surly
tone, from the folds of his cloak, as
he approached Devil-Bug s lanthern.
" Very odd taste, this !"

" Draw a cheer, Parson," exclaim
ed Devil-Bug, smiling blandly ; " or,
now, that I think o it, there ain t no
cheers. Draw a coffin, Parson, and
let s have a talk !"

"I ve no time to stay," muttered
the new-comer, as he allowed the folds
of his cloak to fall from his face, and
discovered the full and beaming visage
of the Rev. Dr. Pyne. " One word,
and I m gone."

" And that word about the gal
you ve been seekin for three days ?"

"At last I ve lured her to Monk-
Hall ! This morning I discovered her
hiding place ; and, notwithstanding
her tears and cries, forced her in a
carriage, quieted her with threats, and
but five minutes since, smuggled her
into Monk^Iall."

" More work for me, I see ! What
was the kontract ?"

THE DEAD-VAULT OF MONK-HALL.

189

u You were to give her a potion in
her drink, in order "

" That she might be prepared for
your wishes ?"

"See that it s done, before
o clock to-night, and the hundred dol
lars are yours?"

" I say, Brother Pyne," said Devil-
Bug, with a pleasant smile. " When
do you preach again ? I reely must
come and hear you ! Is the old ladies
werry much melted when you gives
it to the sinners ?"

" Pshaw !" muttered Brother Pyne,
moving toward the darkness of the
cellar. " You will always have your
joke. Remember, Abijah, the potion
before ten to-night?"

He disappeared in the darkness, and
Devil-Bug was alone, once more.

" Wonder if there s many more sich
parsons in the world ? Fine fat-faced
fellers, with round paunches, and
vatery eyes ? Seems to me, human
natur is wery much like a piece of
putty in a baby s fingers ! The baby
can twist that piece of putty into any
shape he likes, and the more the leetle
crittur twists it, the more twist-able it
becomes ! The idee-ar of full grown
human bein s listenin to a steam in-
gine like that, with his mouth belching
out smoke and blazes, all the while !
Yes yes " he muttered, falling into
the same soliloquizing mood which
had come over his soul, before the en
trance of the Rev. Mr. F. A. T.
Pyne, " Yes yes she was a purty
gal, an I sometimes thinks she s a
livin yit ! She never told me nothin
but her first name, an that s on the
goofd bracelet which she gave me.
I ve got it fast fast under
and key !"

Devil-Bug was silent. The shc.uts
of the revellers in the adjoining cellar,
grew more loud and uproarious, yet ha
heeded them not. Deep in the heart
ten of this monster, like a withered flowei
blooming from the very corruption of
the grave, the memory of that fail
young girl, who, eighteen years ago,
had sought the shelter of Monk-Hall,
lay hidden, fast entwined around the
life-cords of his deformed soul.

* Oh, tell us, ye who in the hours of
infancy, have laid upon a mother s
bosom, who have basked in a father s
smile, who have had wealth to bring
you comfort, luxury, and a home, who
have sunned in the light of religion
as you grew toward manhood, and
been warmed into intellectual life by
the blessing of education ; Oh, tell us,
ye who with all these gifts and mer
cies, flung around you by the hand of
God, have, after all, spurned his laws,
and rotted in your very lives, with the
foul pollution of libertinism and lust ;
tell us, who shall find most mercy at
the bar of Avenging Justice you,
with your prostituted talents, gathering
round your guilty souls, so many wit
nesses of your utter degradation, or
Devil-Bug, the doorkeeper of Monk-
Hall, in all his monstrous deformity
of body and intellect, yet with one
redeeming memory, gleaming like a
star, from the chaos of his sins ?

For him there had never been a
:hurch, a Bible, or a God ! No ar
dent messenger of Jesus had ever
spoken to his ears of the God who
upon the cross, for all men v s
sins, and all mankind s salvation
Never, never !

lock And in this great city, there are
[thousands upon thousands hidden in

190

THE FORGER.

the nooks and dens of vice, who, like
Devil-Bug of Monk-Hall, have never
heard that there is a Bible, a Savior,
or a God ! True, when dragged be
fore the bar of Justice (as by a lively
.stretch of fancy the mockery
called) for the commission of crimes,
to which the very evils of this mos
Christian community had driven them
hungry and starving as they were,
these wretches have seen that Bible
lifted up in Court, heard that Savior s
name lipped over by some official,
anxious for his dinner, or heard the
name of that God profaned by some
witness, greedy to sell his soul for the
price of a hat ! This one point stated,
and you have comprised in a focus,
all their knowledge of a Bible, a Sa
vior, or a God !

And this, in that great Quaker
City, which every Sunday lifts its
demure face to Heaven, and, with
Church-burning, Girard College, and
Bank-robbery, hanging around its
skirts, tells the Almighty God that it
has sent missionaries to the Isles of
the sea, to the Hindoo, the Turk, and
the Hottentot; that it feels for the
spiritual wants of the far-off nations,
to an extent that cannot be measured
by words, while it has not one single
throb of pity, for the poor, who starve,
rot and die, within its very eye
sight !

" She wos a purty gal, and when-
over I think of her, as I said afore,
my eyes grow watery ! I struck the
feller who had laid his hands upon
her I struck him to the floor. I
b lieve my soul she liked me from
that hour ! Hullo who s there ?"

" A littlf ~igga, massa " replied

the voice of Musquito, still speaking
from the distant nook of the cellar.

" Fitz-Cowles niggar!" muttered
Devil-Bug " Wonder what he can
be wanting with me ?"

"De High Golly!" cried a voico
echoing from the darkness of tho
vault-" Dis de debbiPs own den, and
dare s de debbil hisself ! A -^

Dim, the Creole, in his neat blue
round -jacket and trowsers, came steal
ing cautiously toward the lanthern.

" You re a purty boy ain t you ?
What d ye want down here hey?"

" Dare s a lettaw from Massa Fitz-
Cowles "observed Dim, approaching
Devil-Bug with a cautious glance
"De High Golly! I wonder if dat
ting hab got a tail !"

" Here, young indoovidooal, read
this letter. There wasn t no Free
Schools when I was young. Konse-
kence was, my eddy cation was ne
glected."

" And he hab got two feet !" mut
tered Dim " Bress my soul, I t ought
one foot was a hoof! Oh, massa, you
can t read dat letter may be you kin
read dis ring !"

" Hullo ! the ring !" cried Devil-
Bug, with a start " I remember
well, that when Fitz-Cowles first rik-
vested me to hide the Jew, he told me
to mark this ring. Mark it, ses he,
and whenever I send this ring to you,
cause the Jew to, retire / Ho, ho,
that s what s in the wind is it ? Hur
ray, Charcoal, an read that letter !"

Bending slowly over the light, Dim
read the letter which we have already
aid before the reader.

" To think a nigger like that should
read, and my eddycation neglected
Ten thousand dollars about his person!

THE DEAD"- VAULT OF MONK-HALL.

Recompense meself for the keer and
trouble I ve had with him ! Won t I?
?ou can go, young genelman yet
hold up a minnit ! Why didn t you
bring this ring and letter sooner than
this? You ve been playin pitch-
penny with some other nigger, I ll be
bound]"

" Ha, yah 1" laughed Dim, to him
self "Dat mus be de debbil, surfc
nuf! I say, massa, how did yer
know dat 1 I jis was doin dat same
t ing ! A party ob us young bloods
went down to see de Navy Yard and
den we tuk a shine roun town !"

" Re-tire young genelman !" said
Devil-Bug, severely " Re-tire and
rr-port yesself to head-quarters, forth-
vith!

"Ha-yah!" laughed Dim, as he
.hurried from the cellar "Dis chile
know a little more dan rnos folk ! He
seen de debbil ha, yah once in his
life, anyhow !"

Devil-Bug was alone again. Shift
ing the lanthern from its position, he
carefully examined the oaken planks
of the floor. The outlines of a large
trap-door were discernible, with the
bolt, which held it to the floor, insert
ed in the worn and rusted socket.

" Trap-door bout ten feet square !
There s a well below it a deep well,
a dark well ; the d 1 knows how
deep ! Any individooal gettin a fall
through that trap-door, might stand in
danger of bein eat up by rats and all
sorts o wermin, in case the fall didn t
hurt him ! Ten thousand dollars !
Buy a snug little farm out West, or,
ha, ha, ha,(if there wos a good tariff
passed by some o these cussed Con
gressmen, Devil-Bug might go into

the iron-works PJ
13

" Massa," exclaimed the voice of
Musquito, from the darkness, " Dat ar
Jew is a-comin down stairs."

" Let him come," answered Devil-
Bug. " It don t cost nothing . And,
hark ye,the minnit he passes the cellar
door, do you dig off!"

Having thus spoken, Devil-Bug
hastily took the lamp from within the
anthern, and poured some oil over
he rusted bolt of the trap door. In
an instant the bolt yielded to the im
pulse of his hand, and moved quietly
along the socket.

" All right ! I ll jist leave the bolt
a-clingin to the socket, by its end !
The slightest touch from my hand,
won t unloose it ? Redikulus ! I must
get a cheer for my friend taint nice
to give a party without cheers !"

Disappearing behind a brick pillar,
he drew the fragment of another cof
fin, from its resting place, and laid it
down on the floor, some six feet from
the spot where the lanthern stood,

" Any genelman a-sittin on that
cheer, will have the hinges o the trap
door directly at his back, with some six
feet o the trap a-twixt me and him !
The bolt will be right under my foot,
so it will ! Suppose I was to git
thinkin on some subject, and forgit
myself? My foot might unlodge the
bolt from its socket in the trap door.
K-u-sh-ew-fomo- /" he continued, pro
ducing a strange hissing sound, by
suddenly forcing his breath through
his clenched teeth. " K-u-sh-ew-
bangf The trap door *ud fall, and
* melancholy to re-late, as the news
papers ses some body ud git their
brains knocked into shad-roe
off!"

" Massa Von Gelt, am here,

THE FORGER.

*.Bijah," cried Musquito, from the dis
t;int extreme of the vault.

" Show the genelman in, and tell
him to walk mighty keerful, or else
he might fall through some o them
cussed holes, in the floor !"

In a moment, a cautious footstep
was heard, and the dim outline of the
Jew s figure, became visible, as he ad
vanced along the vault.

" Goot eveningsh !" was his salu
tation, as he approached the lanthern
" Fader Abraham ! vot you dosh in
dis place ?"

"Good arternoon " exclaimed
Devil-Bug grinning hideously " Sit
down, an take a cheer !"

With a slight shrug of disgust, the
hump-back, seated himself upon the
coffin opposite Devil-Bug, and quietly
folding his arms over his fragment of
a body, gazed fixedly into the hideous
face of the Door-keeper.

" I say old feller, will you smoke ?"
exclaimed Devil-Bug, taking some se-
gars from the breast of his coarse out
er garment, which neither frock-coat,
over-coat nor dress-coat, was fashion
ed of dingy canvass, with great horn
buttons, running up in front, while the
wide sleeves, hung loosely round his
muscular arms " I say old feller will
you smoke? Here s yer reglar Pax on
cannon smokers " and he displayed
a number of segars in the bony palm
of his broad hand " or here s yer
baby-suckers wot aint got no strength
in them at all. Take a smoke, Gabr el?"

" I vill take won baby-sucker, wot
ish not doo sthrong " replied Gabriel
as reaching forth his hands, he seemed
about advancing toward Devil -Bug
" Dis plashe is very dampish "

" H- ou wont take the trouble to

git up " exclaimed Devil-Bug ai
hastily rising he removed the lanthern,
from its location at his feet, to the im
mediate vicinity of the Jew " Jist
keep the lanthern there. I likes to
fcon-template beauty, in a strong
light!"

The two figures, would have made an
effective picture. The lanthern placed
at the feet of the Jew, threw a strong
light over his person, while the form of
Devil-Bug, was wrapt in a sort of
lively twilight. The calm visage of the
Jew, rendered even more quiet and
contemplative by the segar which he
smoked, the unnatural length of his
face, and the absurd disproportion of
his small and hump-backed body,
which looked more like a shapeless
lump, dressed up in man s attire, than
the frame of a human being, all pre-
sented a vivid contrast to the visage of
Devil-Bug, its solitary eye, glaring
through the obscurity of the vault, like a
flame coal, while his short, but stout and
muscular frame, with the heavy body,
knotted into uncouth knobs at the
shoulders, with the long arms and
bony fists, the slim legs and massive
feet, all gave you the idea, of a
Sampson, stunted in his growth ; a
giant whom nature had dwarfed from
the regular proportion of manly beau-
ty,\down into an uncouth image of
hideous strength^

Around the twain, extended the
death-vault of Monk-Hall, its distant
recesses, wrapt in heavy shadow,
while Ihe arched ceiling directly over-
lead, the oaken floor around, and the
bur pillars of massive brick, were
now disclosed in strong light, as a
sudden gust of wind, agitated the lan
thern -flame, or yet again veiled in a

THE DEAD-VAULT OF MONK-HALL.

193

dim shadow, which gave a dark and
dreary appearance to the place.

" I say Gabr el, wot a pitty, it is ;
is nt it?" exclaimed Devil-Bug, as he
looked forth from the cloud of tobacco-
amoke, which half-concealed his hide
ous countenance.

" Vot ish a bitty ?"

" That me and you, was nt jined
together, with a cord, a-passin
through our witals ! Would nt we
have made a specymen of Siamese
twins ! Ho, ho ! What a pair of
beauties !"

" What wos dish plashe made fur ?"
asked Gabriel knocking the ashes from
his segar " It looksh like won devil s
counting-housh, Bi-Gott !"

" Why, ye see, Gabr el " said
Devil-Bug in a cheerful way " From
all that I ever heered, them fellers as
used to hold out in these diggins, the
Monkses and Priestses, and Nunses,
in the time of the Revvylushun, made
a practice o buryin their dead in
this ere cellar ; and a lively practice
it was too ! They do say there was
fine goin s-on in the old times, in these
parts ! I ought to ve been about in
those days! I was born artermy time "

" Vas you porn at all ?" enquired
Gabriel with a look of quiet sarcasm.

"Now d ye know, Gabr el, that I
sometimes think, I was never born at
all? very pecooliar that you should
jist think as I do, on that pint. Sup
pose I was a devil, would nt it be a
lively thing for me, to chaw you up,
without pepper or salt ! Lord ! How
I should like to gouge out one of

your eyes !
Gabr el ?"
"I wash

Ha, ha ! Nother segar,

to see Vitz-Cowle dis

a calm decision of manner, that indi
cated the man of business.

" You wos, wos ye ?" answered
Devil-Bug, playing carelessly with the
bolt of the trap-door "And arter
you d seen him, what happened ?"

" You knowsh de Widow Smolpy ?
She has de goldt plate, and de monish !"

" Know her ?" cried Devil-Bug, still
playing with the bolt " The old wo
man s as rich as Geerard ! You wos
to see her, wos you, Gabr el ?"

" I vos, and soldt her a goldt watch.
Dat ish to say, I made her a presentsh
ov de watch "

" Do I look like a werry young in.
fant ?" exclaimed Devil-Bug, as bend
ing his face down between his knees,
he passed his fingers along the floor,
with a quick movement " A Jew
give any body a watch ! I ll go an
jine the Free Repenters arter that !"

" Vot you scratch your fingersh on
te floor ? Hey ? I doesh not like dat
noise ! I am so nervous ! I gives te
watch to her, but I takes five thou-
sandt dollars in goldt, from the house,
for my watch !"

"Five thousand dollars in gold,
where is it, Gabr el, where is it ?"

" Up stairsh, in your room. I
put it in te closetsh, near te firesh.
Vot you scratch your fingers on te
floor ?"

"Gabr el, are you good at rithme-
tic? How much is five thousand dol
lars and ten thousand dollars ?"

" Fifteen tousandt tollars. Vot you
asksh for?"

Why " replied Devil -Bug, as
with his face still bent down between
his knees, he played with the boU of
the trap-door " Why why in fact,

warnings h " exclaimed Gabriel, with | Gabr el, you can re-tire !"

J94

THE FORGER.

The word had not passed his lips
before the bolt flew back from its
socket; there was a creaking noise, suc
ceeded by a crash and the whirring
sound produced by the falling trap
door, echoed around the death-vault.
Devil-Bug listened. All was darkness
and silence. With the last gleam of
aght he had beheld the Jew tottering
on the brink of the chasm, and now
he listened for the sound produced by
the mangled body, as it went sweep
ing through the air, to the bottom of
the well. Another moment passed.
A sound arose from the depths of the
well. It was the sound of the lanthern
as it struck against the sides of the
chasm. Bending over the well, on
hands and knees, Devil -Bug listened
with an intensity that forced the cold
sweat out from his forehead. No
sound came echoing up the chasm,
not even a murmur or a groan.

" He s gone home to his daddy "
muttered Devil-Bug, as rising on his
feet again, he turned, in the darkness,
from the edge of the trap door
* He ll never refuse fat pork agin .
[ warrant ye !"

f "I say, vot te teffil you cuts dem
capersh for ?" said a clear bold voice,
resounding through the darkness of
the vault " Got-tam ! I might have
fell town and hurtsh mesself! Vot
for you actsh like a crashy man ?"

Devil-Bug started. So certain had
he been of the Jew s death, that when
he heard his voice echoing through
the darkness, it struck him with a
feeling of supernatural awe. In a
moment, however, he recovered him
self and began to crawl around the
edge of the trap-door, in the direction
from whence the voice had issued.

" He got off, did he?" he muttered
to himself " Ha ! I won t seize him
by the throat, and pitch him into the
well ? Jist trust me with him, a min-
nit, somebody! Why you see, Ga-
br el," he added aloud, in his blandest
tone " I happened to put my foot on
the bolt o that cussed hatchway and
it come loose ! Where are you, Ga-
br el? I m got somethin pertickter
to say to you "

" No toudt, no toudt," responded
Gabriel " Put I vill keepsh my dish-
tance ! Fader Abraham ! vot a man
it ish !"

Creeping along the floor, on hands
and feet, Devil-Bug approached the
pillar from whence the voice pro
ceeded.

" To sarve me sich a trick !" he
muttered " But I ll bruise him for it,
I ll bruise him !"

" I vos a-goin to tellsh you dat
I drop mine pocketsh-book in de wo
man Smolpy s house. Ten tousandt
tollars in it, too !"

" What s that you say ?" grunted
Devil-Bug " Dropped your pocket-
book in widow Smolby s house? You
are a precious pork-hater, to give ten
thousand dollars for five !"

A shrill whistle echoed round the
vault, ringing through nook and cre
vice, with a piercing sound, like the
winter wind shrieking down a chim
ney.

" What are ye up to ?" growled
Devil-Bug, as his outspread hands
grasped the brick pillar " Jist let me
have a feel of your hand, Gabr el

As he spoke the glare of a lamp
flashed over the vault. Devil-Bug
beheld the face of the Jew thrust from
the opposite side of the pillar, with the

THE DEAD-VAULT OF MONK-HALL.

195

Keen a.id piercing eyes fixed upon his
countenance.

" Where did that light come from?"
.he shouted " Hey, Gabr el?"

Turning suddenly, he beheld the
form of a stranger, advancing from the
distant door of the vault with a lighted
candle in his hand.

"I vos jist a-goin to tell you "
exclaimed Gabriel, as Devil-Bug was
occupied in watching the stranger,
who came hastening over the floor of
the vault " Tat we can rop te widow
Smolpy s house. Dosh dat pleash
you? I can git into te house tish
very afternoon "

" Now mister, may I axe, who you
are, and what the d 1 you want
here ?" cried Devil-Bug, as the new*
comer, light in hand, stood in front
of the pillar which separated the
Doorkeeper from the Jew " What s
yer name, anyhow ?"

"Brick-Top," responded the stranger
in a snuffling voice, "Brick-Top, at
your service, sir. My daddy was a
scavenger, and my mammy sold rags.
Now you know all about me, and my
family into the bargain. How d ye
feel, old cove?"

" You re werry familiar, young
man ; you are !" exclaimed Devil-Bug
as he gazed upon the new comer, with
a suspicious glance.
T Brick-Top, was a tall, thin person
age, clad from head to foot in rags ;
not ragged clothes, nor damaged
clothes, nor shabby genteel clothes;
but absolute and unconditional rags.
His thin face, with its aquiline nose,
was spotted all over with large frec-
Kles, and a great bunch of fiery red
hair hung over his forehead, down to
the very eyes. The lower part of his

face was hedged in by a thick beard,
of the same fiery red as his matted
hair ; while his eyes, keen, dark, and
brilliant, presented a strange contrast
to the vacant and unmeaning expres
sion of his freckled countenance.

" Yer daddy was a scavenger, and
yer mammy sold rags ? It s my opi
nion, young man, that yer mammy
must a-dressed you up in her rag shop,
and that yer daddy got mad with you
won day, and cleaned some werry
dirty alley with yer carcase ! Wot a
jail bird! It must a-been a dirty
alley, any how ! Who is the chap,
hey, Gabriel ?"

" A person I got dis mornin to help
us to rob te Widow Smolby s house.
He can git into te house, easy as
nothinsh ! Dish young man vill help!"

"The Widow Smolby s house?"
exclaimed Devil-Bug. " Stores o
plate, chests o yaller boys, closets
full o walleyables ? We kin git into
the house easy as nothin , kin we?
That ud be a haul ; the Widder Smol
by s jewelry ! Why didn t ye say
this at fust, Gabr el ? I wouldn t a-
played any jokes on you then : no
more I wouldn t !"

" Tern jokes ish very tampdt fat,"
said Gabriel quietly ; he little dream
ed that this pleasant joke had been
prepared by Fitz-Cowles, for his espe
cial benefit.

" Vot a set o wretches ye are . n
exclaimed Brick-top, snuffing the can
die with his fingers " To stand here
gabblin about nothin , ven the old
Widdey s house is a-waitin to be rob
bed. Didn t that servant wots a-gom
to betray her Missus, tell us to be on
hand afore three in the arternoon !"

" Sc we kin git in that way, iitt

THE FORGER.

we ? r exclaimed Devil-Bug, with his
accustomed delightful chuckle; "Come
along, Pork-hater, come along, Bundle
o Rags ; this is fcora-siderable better
than Nited States Bank stock !"

And the three pleasant companions
hastened from the Death-vault of
Monk-Hall; Devil-Bug and Gabriel
Von Gelt, conversing together in sub
dued tones while, Brick-Top, follow
ing at their heels, manifested his exu
berance of spirit, by various strange
gestures and mysterious expressions.

" Can we trust that are loafer ?
Werry low feller, he is !" exclaimed
Devil-Bug in a whisper.

" Very desperit fellersh !" replied
Gabriel. " Toes not care for tanger,
and ish goot mit a knifesh !"

" Hurray for Tippeycanoe !" shout
ed Brick-Top, cutting a caper in the
air ; " the lots o gold and walleyables
we re a-goin to lay hold of! All in
the arternoon, ven the Quaker City
as had its dinner, and all the Alder-
mon is a-strugglin with boat loads o
terripin and basket of oysters ! Hur
ray for Tippeycanoe !"

CHAPTER TENTH.

THE GHOST-ROOM.

"Now, Peggy Grud, did I ketch
ye, that time ? Fill the hopper to the
brim with coffee, that cost me nine
cents a pound ! Hey ! hey ! Here s
wasie for you here s comin to want
in my old age ! Sit down, Ike, near
the fire, Ike don t mind that woman,
Peggy Grud! She can t help it, if
he s crazy ! Here, Wessy, here

Naphy, Wshy, Washy, I say come
an sit near the fire, my dears ! You
Peggy Grud, where did ye put Abe, I
say?"

" Murder mur-der /" cried a shrill
voice from the cage, above the mantel.

"Oh, yer there, are ye? Why
jist look at that, Peggy Grud, the
werry parrot cries out, Murder !
when he sees you wastin the coffee
in that style. Now, what did possess
you, Peggy Grud, to fill that hopper
brimfull with that roast coffee, which
cost me nine cents a pound ?"

** Troth, Missus Smolby, an its
yerself that s hard to the poor ! Did
the divvil himself ever hear tell o the
likes o this ? A hopper full o nine
cent coffee indaade ! D ye think me
bones is made o 1 broomsticks, and me
blood o turpentine an melasses, that
ye f-aa-de me, on such likker as
this ?"

" Don t shake yer coffee mill under
my nose ! It cost nine cents a pound."

" Murder, mur-der /" screamed the
parrot.

" Troth the parrot s a-laffin at ye !
No wondher! Didn t he, himself,
wid his own eyes, see me the tother
day, a-tryin to make some o this
coffee run down the kitchen stairs
and all I could do, it wouldn t for the
life o me, stir a step ! mair be, token
it was very wake !"

" Git out o my sight, Peggy Grud,
git out o my sight, and don t come
near me to-day a n !"

" Ochone ! We re got our dander
riz, have we?" cried Peggy Grud,
bouncing out of the room. " It s
mighty crazy we re a-gettin in our
old age," she shrieked, from the entry
without the door. " An it ud take a

THE GHOST-ROOM.

197

dozen divvils to manage us, it would !"
.She added, by way of a parting sa-
lulfb, as she was heard descending the
stairs.

" It s about seventeen years this
day !" muttered the old woman, quietly
seating herself in the capacious arm
chair, placed in front of the fire place!
" Seventeen years since she died
seventeen years since I have had a
fire made in this room ! Hum-hum !
So Brother Pyne was that gal s father !
The trollop, to run away from her
own father s house ! Howsomever,
he tuk her home agin, this mornin !
Wonder if Luke won t swear when
he hears it 1 To think I should out
live five husbands, Buddy, and Crank,
and Dul Dul Peg, I say, what was
my third husband s name ? Oh, she
aint here. Dulcombe or Dulman,

or, yes that s it, Dulpins, and

what was I a-goin to say ?"

The old lady glanced around the
room, with a puzzled look. The
Ghost-Room was perfectly still and
quiet. The faint wood fire, flickering
over the hearth, every now and then,
flared up in a sudden flash, dispelling
the dim shadows which rested upon
the corners of the chamber. As the
fire died away, the light of the soli
tary candle, standing upon the work
table, at the old lady s side, fell with
glaring lustre, around its immediate
vicinity, while the farther extremes of
the room were wrapt in dusky sha
dow. The massive bed, with its
heavy curtains, rose in the obscure
air, like a mausoleum for the dead ; the
circular mirror, standing on the an
tique dressing bureau, as ever and
anon, it received a gleam of light on
its polished surface, looked like one

of those niirrors, in which you are
afraid to gaze, when alone in the si
lence of night, for fear a ghostly face
may peer over your shoulder in the
glass; and the thick hangings de
pending from the windows, waved
slowly to and fro, as occasional gusts
of wind came moaning through the
crevices of the chamber door.

The picture above the mantel, as
the light trembled over its surface, as
sumed the appearance of reality, and
for a moment, ever and anon, it would
seem animate with a sudden life. The
deep, lustrous dark eyes, the pale face,
blooming with a rose-bud freshness in
the centre of either cheek, and strik
ingly relieved by the long black hair,
twining around the neck, and falling
over the bosom in glossy curls, seemed
warming into life, while it gazed with
a sad and melancholy gaze, upon the
wrinkled visage of the old woman
seated by the fireside.

" Murder mur-der !" screamed the
parrot, from his cage, which was hung
beside the portrait. " Murder Fi-er!"

"Now, Abe," cried the Widow
Smolby, starting from her reverie, r
11 That s a lie ! I was not a-goin to
say murder nor fi-er! But I was
a-goin to say that it was a strange
thing that I should outlive five hus
bands, Buddy, and Crank, and Smol
by, and Tuppick, an one whose name
I dis-remember; and be robbed, arter
all, by a plunderin Jew; not at all
mentionin Peggy Grud s filling the
hopper brimfull o nine cent coffee !"

The old lady gazed fondly into the
faces of her four cats, grouped around
the fire place, like pieces of Dutch
statuary, as though she awaited thetf
answer to her lamentations.

193

THE FORGER.

" Ike-y" she exclaimed, gazing in
the countenance of a very vicious tor
toise-shelled cat, " You wos very
naughty to per-voke that Abe this
mornin ! You was so ! Wesley,
that s a good Wesley," and she patted
the back of a cat, whose coat display
ed an uniform of sky-blue and white.
" To sit cardin wool there all alone,
by yerself ! Washy didn t ketch any
mice to-day." This was addressed
in a tone of mock severity, to a large
and lubberly white cat. "And, as
for you, Nappy," Nappy was a
small black cat, with spiteful green
eyes " And, as for you, Nappy, you
don t do nothin but spin from morn
in till night !"

Attracted by the sound of the old
woman s voice, the four cats, arose
from their sleeping postures, and be
gan to rub their sleek fur against her
dress, while they exhibited their de
light by purring to a lively tune.

" Ikey spins werry coarse " soli
loquize the old woman " I feel very
heavy, now that I come to think of it.
I b lieve I ll lay down a bit."

She moved toward the bed, with the
cats following at her heels, and in a mo
ment disappeared within the curtains.

"I ve never laid in this bed " her
voice resounded from within the hang
ings " Since the day afore she died !
Be still Ike don t stick yer claws into
me, in that way ! Down Wesley, I
say get off my head Wesley how
dare you ! Tear my cap to pieces in
that way! Nappy, ye black snake
ye, will you be quiet?"

" Abe wants a pe-ta-ter !" screamed
the Parrot bustling about in his cage
" Abe wants a hot pe-ta-ter ! Fi-er !
Murder, Mur-der/"

" I ll get up and choke you, Abe;
I will !" screamed the old woman turn
ing over in bed " Yer a perfec pack
o wretches ! To think that I should
outlive five husbands, Buddy, Crank,
Dul Dul I say Peg what s that
one s name ? Dul Dul

The old lady was asleep. The par
rot in a fit of violent misanthrophy
laid his head between his wings and
muffled himself up in those very wings,
like a traveller in his cloak. The room
was perfectly quiet; the silence un
broken by a sound save the purring
noise made by the cats, as they clus
tered round the sleeping widow.

This entire quietude continued for
the space of ten minutes or more,
when it was disturbed by the opening
of the chamber-door.

The withered face of Peggy Grud
was thrust through the aperture.

" Aslaape, is she ? An cut me aff
wid a shillin ? The likes on her to
thry that game wid me, a ter my long
sarvice! Wait till three o clock,
comes ; jest wait !"

Closing the door, Peggy hurried
down the dark stairway. Instead of
making her way to the basement
kitchen, her usual resort, she entered
the front room on the first floor, and
sate down by the table, on which a
light was burning.

"The laud num in the coffee, settled
her hash !" she muttered squaring her
elbows, as her withered face, was
wrinkled by a sickly smile "The
front door aint on the jar ? Divvil the
taste ! I ll jist craape down to my
karner be the kitchen fire! Five
hunder dollars the Jew prormshed ;
and two hunder he s give me,

THE GHOST ROOM.

199

dhy ! Faix I ll put em in the Loan
Company !"

Peggy rose from her seat, and
moved toward the door of the room.

" Troth it plashes me ! Cut me a-ff
wid a shillin indaade !" she exclaimed
as she closed the door and disappear
ed " Faix she may be cut a-ff wid
something besides a shillin ; sorrow to
to her sowl !"

The room was not long left to si
lence and solitude. Peggy had not
disappeared more than five minutes,
when the front door of the mansion,
creaked harshly on its rusty hinges,
footsteps were heard in the entry, and
and the door leading from the entry
into the front room, swung slowly open.

" Dish is de plashe !" exclaimed a
voice in a deep whisper, and the di
minutive form of a hump-backed man,
lad in a threadbare cloak, with an
immense white hat concealing his face
from view, strode softly into the room
* Dish is de plashe ! Now for mine
pockets-booksh, vich " he added in a
tone of quiet glee " Vich I nefer did
lost !"

Ere another moment passed, two
other figures, wrapped in threadbare
cloaks, like the first, stole cautiously
into the room, and approached the
light, which burned dimly on the small
table in the centre.

"I say Gabr el bolt the door"
said the stoutest figure of the three
u Let s have a quiet time to ourselves !
Ho! Ho! Ho! Robbin a house in
broad daylight ! It tickles me, it does !
Now genelmen to your posts two on
us must go up stairs, while the tother
one, watches below. Will you watch
in this ere room Gabr el ?"

" Fader Abraham ! Viles you has

te priviliges of looking over te oldt
lady s cash-pooks up stairsh ! Not I,
py no meansh !"

" What d ye say Brick-Top ? Will
ye keep watch down stairs ?"

" Jist as this ere convention of the
Sovreign People, may decide " re
plied the gentleman addressed, quietly
taking his seat by the table "But
fair play ye mind ? I m to have my
thirds out o this estate as the Irish
widder said, whem she fit with fourteen
children for thirteen potatoes, and a
salt mackerel ! Go up stairs boys, and
Remove the Deposits ! ^We re the rale
Dimmycrats we are JY

" Gabr el they re a-waitin 5 prayer
for us !" exclaimed Devil -Bug, as his
solitary eye, twinkled from beneath
the shadow of his ponderous hat
"Up stairs Gabr el, up stairs andjine
in prayer for the health o the old
lady"

They hastened from the room, and
in a moment were heard ascending
the stairs, while their companion, the
contemplative Brick-Top, remained
seated beside the table in the front
room.

" This is lively ! They go up stairs ;
they commence rummaging the front
room. Meanwhile, there is no one on
the look out for them ? Oh, no : don t
think of such a thing. Having plun
dered the front room, on the third
story, they try the back room door,
and find it locked. This excites their
curiosity. They break open the door,
and -find themselves in the arms of
Easy Larkspur and twelve polict
officers /"

It was singular to note the change
which came over Brick-Top s voice
and manner, as he sate by the table

800

THE FORGER.

muttering mysterious words to him
self, in a tone of quiet satisfaction.
His voice, suddenly lost all its vaga
bond-hoarsness, and his manner was
utterly unlike the manner of the devil-
may-care loafer, whom Devil-Bug and
Von Gelt had left in the front room
as their sentinel.

Suddenly rising from his seat,
* Brick-Top turned his face from the
light, as he bent over a small wash-
stand in an obscure corner of the
room. It was very singular that a
gentleman of his free-and-easy habits
should take the trouble to wash his
face, but judging from the gestures of
Brick-Top, as he stood with his back
to the light, he was certainly occupied
in this vital act of Turkish devotion.
In a moment he turned toward the
light again, and as a farmer strips a
stalk of corn of all superfluous leaves,
so Brick-Top, passing his hands
rapidly up and down his person,
stripped his costume of manifold rags,
entirely from his tall figure, and lo !
he stood disclosed in the beams of
the candle, a very respectable gentle
man, attired in a frock coat and pants
of glossy broadcloth. His uncouth
red hair, hanging over his very eyes,
still gave him a most villianous air of
decayed loaferism, but this he treated
with the same disrespect as his cos
tume of rags.

" Faugh ! How that red wig
stinks !" cried Brick-Top, flinging
Ins head of hair to the other side of
the room " I flatter myself I did the
4 loafer rather genteely ! Ha, ha,
Luke, it wasn t so bad for you ! My
name is Brick-Top, gemmen, my
daddy wos a scavenger, and my
nommy sold rags ! Ha, ha, ha !"

Luke Harvey, dressedjn his usuai
costume, with the paint jmd freckles /
washed from his (ace, stood disclosed
in the light.

" Dressed myself in a small rag-
shop this morning and prowled about
the avenues leading to Monk-Hall.
Met the Jew introduced myself as a
ruffian out of business closed the
bargain with him to help rob this
house. Went to the Police office, en
gaged twelve fellows with red noses
and agreeable complexions. Gave
their leader, Easy Larkspur, the pass
key to the small door at the back of
this house, which opens into the pri
vate staircase, leading up into the bacli
room on the third story ! The ol .
lady sleeps there in the afternoon
The police were to warn her of hei
danger. And the old lady and the
girl, I suppose, are safe in the garret,
while Devil-Bug and Von Gelt are
being trapped in the midst of their
plunder. At all events, the police
are close at hand ! They are there
at this moment waiting for their prey !
Ha ! Let me listen !"

Advancing to the foot of the stairs,
he listened with silent intensity for a
single moment. Not a sound came
echoing down the dark staircase. All
was silent as though no robber s foot
pressed the floors of the old mansion.

" Let me once have the Jew in my
power, and then Fitz-Cowles is a [
doomed man ! Was not that a shriek ?
[ will buy the documents by offering
the Jew his liberty and all his share
of the ill-gotten money into the bar
gain ! Ha ! the police are upon
hem ! I hear them fighting up
stairs ! As for Devil-Bug, it rather
sains me to bring the old fellow tc

DEVIL-BUG IN THE GHOST-ROOM.

201

harm s door! Egad, but they re at j was moving in the direction wheru
: t up stairs ! (jfo. doubt_ he has com- he supposed the bed was fixed, when
mitted crimesjmough to sink a ship, his foot slipped from under him, and

even if each separate crime weighed
no more than a pebble on the sea
shore ! But he s an honest oldirjogue 1
for all that, and the Oath of our
Club prevented me from betraying
the haunts of Monk-Hall to the police,
so I had to lure the Jew from its cozy
old nooks and cells ! Pity that Devil-
Bug came with him ! Ha ! Was not
ihat a shriek? Another shriek a
groan and the tramp of footsteps !
Devil-Bug fights hard ! He is scuffl
ing with the police I ll hurry up
stairs and see the fun !

A piercing shriek, followed by a
deep-toned shout, echoed through the
chambers of the old mansion. Luke
rushed up stairs. The noise grew
louder in the third story, the hurried
tramp of footsteps resounded through
the mansion, and then all was silent
again. Luke gained the head of the
stairway; all was dark as the tomb.
No light glaring from an open door
served to illumine his way. Stand
ing at the head of the topmost stair,
Luke held his very breath as he
listened. A dark fear and a horrible
suspicion flashed over his soul. Not
a sound struck his ear, not even the
breathing of a man, or the rustling of
a passing footstep.

" This is strange " muttered Luke
" but a moment ago the house
rung with shouts and shrieks, and
now Ha ! This must be the door of
the Ghost-Room "

He entered the dark chamber, his
hands outspread, while he listened
with painful intensity for the slightest
lound. He passed over the carpet, he

he fell to the floor.

" The floor is wet " he muttered,
with an oath, as he endeavored to
regain the floor " Curse the thing,
who has been flinging the furniture
about the room ?* he continued, as an
object a piece of furniture, or perhaps
a chest, or a bundle of clothes arrest
ed his progress and flung him head
long to the carpet. " The police must
have had a d 1 of a schuffle ! But
what s become of the old woman and
the girl ?"

Arising hastily to his feet, he rush
ed down stairs, in order to procure a
light. Entering the front room once
more, he extended his hands to grasp
the candlestick, and in the very action
started back with a feeling of horror,
that chilled him to the inmost heart.

His hands, which he raised in the
glare of the light, were crimsoned
with thick red blood.

CHAPTER ELEVENTH.

DEVIL-BUG IN THE GHOST-ROOM.

" Cuss the stairs they creak as if
they had the roomatiz ! Keep close
to my heels, Gabr el !"

"Yes I dosh!" whispered the
Jew, in reply " There i?h a light
take keer now, take very goot keer "

Ascending the dark staircase with
a hushed and cautious footstep. Devil.
Bug stood on the landing which gave
entrance to the back and front rooms
of the third story. A ruddy gleam

*02

THE FORGER.

of light flared out upon the passage,
from within the Ghost-Room, as the
door hung slightly ajar. Devil-Bug
advanced a step and listened. All
was silent. He pushed the door wide
open, and with Gabriel following at
his heels, stood within the confines of
the ancient chamber. The candle
was still burning upon the table, and
the wood fire flickered fitfully on the
hearth.

The old woman s a-sleepin on that
bed" muttered Devil-Bug "She
snores like a trumpet ! We must be
keerful ! Have you got the keys
them false keys "

" Vich I took from wax impres
sions, prepared! by Peggy Grud?
Here tey ish te trunksh under te
foots of the te bedt "

Devil-Bug took the keys in one
hand, the candle in the other and ad
vanced to the foot of the bed. In a
moment, placing the candle upon the
carpet, he swept the bed-hangings
aside, and drew from under the couch,
with a slow and careful movement, a
small chest of dark wood, with a key
hole of peculiar shape.

" Bi-Gott !" cried the Hebrew, who
ever made use of this favorite oath
when very much excited " I smellsh
te gooldt already !"

" H-u-sh !" whispered Devil-Bug,
fixing one of the keys, which he
grasped in his hand, in the keyhole
of the chest " Be still, or I ll damage
you so the d 1 won t know you !
Ha, ha there s the yeller boys ! The
rale giniwine mulatters !"

" Fader Abraham !" cried the Jew,
rubbing his hands with glee.

With the light extended in one
hand, Devil-Bug, bent slowly down,

and as his every feature was thrown
out in strong relief, he surveyed trie
prospect disclosed by the opened chest,
with a glance of the deepest satisfac
tion. By his side, knelt the Jew, his
dark eyes sparkling with delight, a&
as he gazed upon the treasures of the
opened chest. The light flared over
their faces, and over the rich stores of
coin, which peeped out from among
musty parchments, and dingy rolls of
time-eaten manuscript. The long face
of the Jew, with its regularity of fea
ture, its healthy hues, and its deep and
brilliant eyes, was in vivid contrast
with the hideous countenance of his
companion, the eyeless socket and the
solitary blazing eye, the wide mouth
and the pointed chin, yet in that mo
ment of intense gratification, their
visages, so widely different in detail,
were glowing with the same grinning
expression of delight, and agitated by
the same grasping lust for gold.

" Gott ! Toubloonsh ! Toubloonsh !"
muttered the Jew, thrusting his hands
eagerly into the chest.

* Are ye a nateral born fool ?" mut
tered Devil-Bug in a surly tone "The
clink of the pewter ill wake up the
old woman. Be quiet while I konsi-
ders the pecooliar circumstances, under
which we are placed "

And as they bent lowly over the
chest, their eyes feasting on the rich
store of doubloons, the bed hangings,
were agitated by a slight movement,
and in an instant, a worn and wither
ed face, whose sharp features, were
rendered painfully distinct, by the
tight-fitting cap of black silk, was
thrust between the purple folds, with
in striking distance of the robbers
heads.

DEVIL-BUG IN THE GHOST ROOM.

203

It was the face of the old woman,
aroused from her sleep, by the clink
ing of her gold. With presence of
mind, that would have done honor to
a General in a battle-field, she noticed
the movements of the robbers, without
so much as a start or a cry of surprise,
and in that instant of silent observation,
she resolved upon her plan of action-
Beneath the side of the be I, nearest
the wall, was a small chest, in which
a pair of pistols, had been always
kept by her last husband. Could she,
slowly drag her form along the mas
sive couch, to the opposite side of the
bed, and extending her hands, raise
the lid of the chest, and seize the pis
tols, she had no fears for the result.
While the robbers bent over the chest,
whispering to one another in hushed
tones, she withdrew within the cur
tains, and commenced dragging heiself,
slowly and cautiously along the bed.

"I tells you vat it ish " whis
pered the Jew " Dish is too mosh
monish to take away leetle by leetle !
Somepody may come, and take it
afore we come agin. Let ush, put
down the lid, and carry off te chest at
wonsh !"

" Was that the old oman moanin in
her sleep?" whispered Devil-Bug,
holding his breath to listen " Hush !
The bed s a creakin like blazes. Let
me go round an take a look at the old
lady"

Arising from the chest, he strode
cautiously around the bed, and gazed
within the curtains. All was dark as
midnight. He could hear a sound like
the hissing of an enraged cat, mingled
with a slight creaking noise.

" The light Gabr el !" he whispered.

" I ll give it to you, you ornery

scoundr l to rob a poor live woman,
in this ere vay " screamed a wo
man s voice, from within the curtains,
and the light of a pistol, caused by the
powder flashing in the pan, flared
up in Devil-Bug s face. By that
momentary gleam of light, he beheld
the form of the old woman, crouching
on the bed, in the attitude of an en
raged tigress preparing to spring, a
pistol extended in each outstretched
hand, while a gleam of superhuman
malignity shot from her small grey
eyes.

" Rob a poor lone woman, will ye?
Take that !" she cried, pulling the trig
ger of the remaining pistol. It flashed
in the pan, but missed fire.

"Them pistols is old fashioned, like
yerself ought to have the rale per
cushions, ha, ha, ha !" laughed Devil
Bug, but his laughter was of brief du
ration.

With a wild yell, gathering all her
strength for a desperate effort, the old
woman, bounded from the bed, and in
an instant, came plunging at the
throat of Devil -Bug, her arms out
stretched, and her long skinny fingers,
clutching him by the face and hair.
She hung upon him, like a living
Night-mare, her arms gathering con
vulsively round his neck, while her
long nails, dug into his cheeks, like
the talons of a vulture.

"Help me, Gabr el " muttered
Devil -Bug, struggling fiercely with the
old woman " Give me a lift, and I ll
choke her in a minnit "

Gabriel looked up in surprise,
mingled with terror. His course was
taken in a moment. Closing the lid
of the small chest, heaped with dub-
loons, he gathered it, in the embrace

f04

THE FORGER.

of his long arms, and winding his
dingy cloak round his shoulders,
made towards the door.

" Down the back staircase," he
muttered, hurrying through the door.
" I vill make my tracks !"

The old widow still clung to the
robber s neck, gathering him to her
withered form in an embrace, more
pressing than maternal. With a vio
lent effort Devil-Bug raised his arms,
and poising her a moment in the air,
dashed her to the floor. In an instant
she was on her feet again ; in another
instant her arms were round his neck,
with one hand gathered in his hair,
and the other clutching him by the
face.

" What an old crittur ! Not to
pare her nails !" muttered Devil-Bug,
as his face, and hands were wet with
his blood. I ll give ye a lesson, ye ll
never forgit, I will !

" I ll larn ye to rob a poor lone wo
man," shrieked the widow.

Then commenced a contest, which
buf^a mtnate ortwo in duration, was
characterized on both sides by all the
malignant energy of wild beasts, fight
ing for their prey. Again and again,
Devil-Bug, raised her in his arms and
dashed her to the floor; again and
again, she sprung to her feet, and
v/ith the bound of a rattlesnake dart
ing on its victim, gathered her hands
round his throat. Along the floor,
Devil-Bug dragged her, upsetting
chairs and tables in the struggle; from
one end of the room to the other, with
the celerity of lightning, the combat
ants passed, the old woman muttering
a suppressed shriek all the while, as
the hand of the robber was pressed
apon her mouth. Now around the

bed, now along the hearth, scattering
ashes and firebrands in the air, now
against the wall, this desperate fight
was continued, the old woman strug
gling with supernatural strength for
jier life and her gold, while Devil-Bug
with all his muscular vigor, his arms
of iron sinew, and his fingers, whose
grasp was like the shutting of a vice,
found, for once, he had encountered
an antagonist as determined as him
self.

" Murder Mur-der/" shrieked the
parrot, aroused from his nap, by the
sound of the contest.

" Ye ll cry murder, will ye ?" cried
Devil-Bug, mistaking the cry of the
parrot, for a shriek of the old woman.
"I ll settle that business for you, I
will !"

His teeth were fixedly compressed,
as with one desperate effort he un
loosed the arms 01 the old woman
from his throat, and grasped her firmly
by the middle of the body. He fixed
his eye upon a massive knob sur
mounting one of the brass andirons
before the fire, and, as a blacksmith
raises a hammer in his arms, he
swung the body of the old woman
suddenly on high. She uttered a
loud and piercing shriek it was her
last! As the blacksmith with his
muscular arms, braced for the blow,
brings the hammer, whirling down
upon the anvil, so Devil-Bug, with his
hideous face, all a-flame with rage,
swung the body of the old woman
wildly over his shoulder, and with the
every impulse of his strength, gather
ed for the effort, struck her head her
long grey hairs streaming wildly all
the time full against the knob of the
brass andiron.

DEVIL-BUG IN THE GHOST ROOM.

203

He raised her body in the air again
to repeat the blow, but the effort was
needless. The brains of the old wo
man lay scattered over the hearth,
and the body which Devil-Bug raised
in the air, was a headless trunk, with
the bleeding fragments of a face and
skull, clinging to the quivering neck.

" B lieve me soul, the old ooman s
hurt," muttered Devil-Bug, with a
ghastly smile, as he flung the body,
yet trembling with life, to the floor
" Ha ! ha !" he shouted, standing as
still as though suddenly frozen to
stone. " There s that feller at my
side with the jaw bruk and the tongue
stickin out ! There is, just as he fell
through the trap, and there, by his
side, is the old woman, with the brains
a-pourin out from the empty skull !
There s two on em now and they ll
always be with me ah! ah! I ll
not stand this ; I won t ! Why can t
a feller kill his man or woman and
have done with em? But to have

em this way, always with you.

^ He, he, he ! / begin to Vlieve in hell
now, I do /"

He stood before the fireplace, with
his back to the portrait. The corse
of the old woman, the mangled frag
ments of a face and skull, resting in
a pool of blood, lay at his very heels
along the hearth. In front of him, at
some distance along the floor, beside
the bed, stood the candle, now flicker
ing in its socket, and flinging a waning
light around the room. The face of
Devil -Bug was pale as ashes. His
lips were tightly compressed, and his
solitary eye glared out from the sha
dow of the overhanging brow, like
the eye of a war-horse, with the
death-arrow in his heart. His hands

hung stiffened by his side, rlis entire
appearance, was that of a man whom
some wierd enchantment is transform
ing to lifeless stone. The cold sweat
in big and clammy drops, streamed
over his tawny visage, and his eye
grew more vivid and intense in its
burning gaze.

" 1 hear the critter groan " he
muttered, without moving the fraction
of an inch from his statue-like posi
tion " Somethin evil is goin to hap-
pen to me ! Just as he fell through
the hatchway, his jaw broke and
his tongue out he lays afore me !
And he moves his blood-shot eyes
and waggles his tongue, and groans
an groans ! And the old woman s
there too ! She s layin at my back,
I know, but there she is, at my side
the brains oozing out from the hol
low skull !"

For a moment the murderer treirv-
bled from head to foot.

"By God!" he muttered the oath)
with deep emphasis and this was a
singular thing for Devil-Bug to do,,
for he scarcely ever swore by the
name of the Almighty " By God ! J
do / do begin to b lieve that there
is a hell /"

And around his feet and over the
heart, silently and slowly the blood
of the murdered woman began to flow
and spread, while the ghastiy corse,
with the hollow skull oozing with
clotted flesh and brains, lay huddled
in a shapeless heap, the hand contort
ed with the spasm ~ r death,and the stif
fened limbs fl ? v,g *Uong the bricks, in
the crouching position peculiar to a
violent and a bloody death.

Murder was in that room in its most
awful form. Like a terrible Presence,

206

THE FORGER.

it seemed to darken the very air of
-he room, and chill the strong heart
of the murderer. The light flickered 1
dimly in the socket, and then sank
down, after sudden glare, and all was
darK as midnight.

" It s gone out " muttered Devil-
Bug, as his heart gathered a strange
courage from the darkness, which
took the sight of all outward objects
from his view " It s gone out ! Why
shouldn t I fill my pockets with some
o the old woman s plunder ? Ha, ha,
ha! Why not? Devil-Bug ain t so
easily skeered, I tell ye "

He turned toward the fire-place as
he spoke. He was about to prosecute
his researches in the darkness when
the light, which he had fancied ex
tinguished, flared up from its socket,
and lit the room with a sudden glare.
That glare was but for an instant,
and yet by its red light Devil-Bug,
with his face turned to the hearth,
beheld the dark eyes of the portrait
gazing fixedly upon him. He had not
observed this portrait before. But
now, as the pale cheeks glowed in the
momentary glare of the dying candle,
as the dark eyes grew suddenly bril

liant, and the hair seemed to wav- i*i
float in the ruddy light, while tha
background of this picture, the frame
and all its minor details were wrapt
in thick darkness, Devil-Bug thought
he beheld, not a portrait or a mere
piece of inanimate canvass, but a
breathing and living woman, whose
look was fixed upon his face in terri
ble reproof.

"Nell!" he shrieked "The gaf
come to life agin , jist as she was
seventeen years ago! Ho, ho, ho!
/ do believe there is a God thafs
a fact!"

The light went out and all was
darkness. Devil-Bug, with a wild
yell, fled from the room, his footsteps
echoed through the next chamber, and
in a moment resounded from the pri
vate stairway leading into the yard.
Again and again that wild yell,
mingled with a woman s name, broke
upon the air, and then all was still.

Silence, and darkness, and murder,
were only the tenants of the Ghost-
Room, while the oozing blood began
to harden over the cold bricks of the
fire-place.

BOOK THE THIRD.
THE SECOND NIGHT

MABEL.

CHAPTER FIRST. from the private staircase, and in a

moment, throufflTlhe doorway at its

LUKE HARVEY IN THE GHOST-ROOM.

head, there stole the figure of a stout

LUKE raised his blood-stained hands
in the light, and stood chained to the
spot with horror. In a moment he

man, wrapped in a thick overcoat,
with a pistol in one hand and a thick
knotted mace in the other. One by

mastered the dead and icy feeling of j one, at his heels, there followed twelve
awe which began to change his very ; muscular men, dressed and armed
heart to stone. He seized the candle, ! like their leader. Luke neither heard
he rushed up the stairway, and stood | nor saw them, but stood as if frozen tc
before the door of the Ghost-Room, j the floor, with his head turned away
The light which he grasped flashed j from the door of the Ghost-Room,
through the open door of the back- " Why Harvey is that you ?"
room. It was silent and untenanted cried the leader of the band of twelve
by human being. The door, opening i " Has them fellers been here hey?
on the private staircase, hung slightly Or am I too early ? Easy Larkspur
open. Luke gazed through the door- is generally too early. Why what s
way of the back-room again and again, the matter with you, man ? Where s
but his gaze, never for a single instant, the old woman, and the gal ? Strike
wandered into the Ghost-Room, whose me stoopid, if you haint strucK
opened door laid its Secret bare to his dumb !"

glance. Luke silently pointed to the Ghost-

He stood at the door with the light Room.

in his hand, trembling with a strange Larkspur seized the candle and,
fear, but he dared not enter the followed by the twelve police officers,
room. hurriedly rushed into the chamber.

Even as he stood, footsteps, hushed
end softened, came echoing faintly

There was a pause for a single mo
ment, and then from every man them

14 207

808

MABEL.

yelled one involuntary and awful
shriek of horror.

By G d we re too late !" mut
tered Larkspur, in a voice whose em-
phasis of horror was in fearful contrast
with his usual devil-may-care tones
" The party has been here afore us,
and finished their job !"

" Didn t I tell you " cried a Police
Officer " That the feller, whom we
saw shinnin it down the alley, as we
came in the gate, was one of the party
from this house?"

" May I be hung for stealin* a tooth
pick from a match boy, if this aint a
leetle a-head of my time !" exclaimed
Larkspur, and Luke could hear him,
walking hurriedly up and down the
room " Too late, boys, too late, by
G d !"

Luke gathered nerve for a sight of
horror, and slowly advancing into the
room, pushed through the band of po
lice officers, and gazed upon the
mangled corse " Here s some of the
fruits of my d d plot to catch the
thieves " he said in a husky voice,
as he gazed upon the shapeless mass\
which but five minutes before, had been
a living and breathing creature
" Larkspur I thought that you were
hidden in the backroom, when I first
entered the house : but no matter. It s
all over now "

His face was white as the death -
shroud, and his upper lip trembled
with an involuntary movement.

" Larkspur " he said in a voice
which did not rise above a whisper
" Search this room, and see and
see if there is not another another
corpse !"

"Och, Whilaloo! Cchone! Ochone!

Murtherin th-a-aves in the house o?
me misthress ! Ochone !" a voice
came echoing from the main stairway
of the mansion " Ochone ! We re
ruinated and kilt intirely ! Heard ye
iver the likes o this ?"

Peggy Grud came rushing into the
room, her hair flying about her head
in wild disorder, while with her clasp
ed hands upraised, she rent the air
with a succession of vivid shrieks.
The Police officers were between her
and the fireplace, and the fearful ob
ject, laid along the floor, did not
meet her eyesight.

" Will ye git out o this, ye mur-
therin blaggards ? Where s my mis
thress? Ochone Ochone! Th-a-aves!
I ll riz the nabor ud on ye Where s
me misthress ?"

Luke silently pushed the police
officers aside, and taking Peggy Grud
by the hand, led her forward.

" There " he cried fixing his
snake-like eye upon her, with a glance
which she dared not face " There is
your Mistress !"

" Murder, Murder /" cried the Par
rot, rustling about in the cage abovo
the mantel piece.

Peggy Grud looked down upon the
corse, and then leaped into the very
air, with a start of unfeigned horror.
Uttering shriek after shriek, no longer
feigned by shrewd hypocrisy, but
wrung from her bosom, by the hor
rible sight of the ghastly corse, com
bined with her own guiity fears, Peggy
Grud, sank in a kneeling position
with her face averted from the dead
body, while she tore her hair, in very
madness.

" Who ses I did the murther ? she

DORA AND LUKE.

209

fthi*eked "It s a lie! It s a lie! Who
ses I did the murther ? It is a lie as
black as hell ! Och ochone !"

" Yer a purty pictur aint you V
cried Larkspur advancing from the
throng of police officers "Yer a
purty thing, aint ye? You ll be in all
the papers, now wont you 1 Oh, git
?rt, ye ugly cripple ! Ye ll have your
portr it in the Black Mail, with these
verds below "Peggy Orud the
murderer of her missus. 1 And they ll
have an account of yer trial in the
Ledger and the Chronicle, vith full
descriptions of yer relations, and yer
family affairs ! Oh, ye 11 become a
public karacter ye will ! I ll tell you
what it is, fellers, there s none of ye
can ever say, that you ever heered of
Easy Larkspur bein seized with an
affecshun o wafer in the eyes, but
d n them werry eyes, but if that
sight doesn t beat me out ! To see an
ole v/oman murdered by an hired gal,
while the werry cats, vich the ole wo
man, fed with her own hand, comes
a-weepin round her corpse "

True it was that the favorites of the
old lady who in the first uproar of the
contest, between her and Devil-Bug,
had slunk away into the nooks and
crannies of the room, now stole
forth from their hiding places, and
came purring and moaning round the
\shapeless corse. ^They walked in
the old woman s blood, picking her
dress with their claws, as though to
arouse her from slumber, while they
looked up in the faces of the bystand
ers, with an expression of brute an
guish, more painful to see, than the
deepest agony of a human counte
nance, for the human countenance

has a tongue to speak, while the brute
can only look and mourn.

Ike, the tortise-shell cat, and Wes
ley the blue-and-white cat to give
them the fanciful names, by which the
old lady knew them Nappy, the
black cat with snake-like eyes, and
Washy the lubberly white cat, with a
sleepy look, all walked round the dead
body, staining their feet in the thick
blood, while with moan after moan,
they picked the torn dress of the old
woman, with their claws, and seemed
urging her to rise.

" Genelmen aint that a sight for
you?" cried Larkspur in a tone of
feeling. No one replied. Luke stood
beside the corpse with his head droop
ed over his folded arms.

" Genelmen aint that a sight for
you ? Here the cats and the hired gal .!
The old woman fed em all ! The
hired gal murders her missus the
cats mourn for the death o their mis
sus ! Aint that a sight genelmen ?"

"Ochone Ochone!" screamed Peg-
gy Grud " What have I done ? Jist
tell me anybody, what have I done ?"

" Murder, Mur-der /" screamed the
Parrot, from his cage " Mur-der /"

CHAPTER SECOND.

DORA AND LUKE.

" No sign of violence, no mark of
murder, to tell the story of an untimely
death ! The victim will lay, calm arid
motionless, as though he had but re-
signed himself to a pleasant slumber!
One moment his cheek glows with

$10

MABEL.

health let but a drop from this phial,
uas his lips, and his face, will take
the hue of ashes, his heart grow cold
and lifeless ! The world, ha, ha, ha !
The world, will wonder and stare, and
the Doctor, nodding sagely all the
while, will aver, by all the knowledge
of his craft, that Livingstone, came to
his death, through the natural result
of the fatal disease, which has been
gathering round his heart for years !

" I, alone, will hold the mystery of
his death, locked fast among the se
crets of my bosom !"

Dora Livingstone was alone. Alone
in that gorgeous chamber, which Li
vingstone had delighted to crowd with
the evidences of his wealth. Situated

r m a central part of his mansion, it
was illumined by a splendid chan
delier, whose price, told in round
heaps of dollars, would have bought
you a seat in Congress, or wrung

{Justice, from the most impartial Bench.
The light of the chandelier, sub
dued and softened, by thick shades of
costly glass, fell around the chamber
with the effect of moonlight, disclosing
rhe satin hangings, which concealed
the lofty walls, the gorgeous^ carpet
laid along the floor, and the splendid
furniture, which gave an appearance
of extreme luxury to the place.
The wide hearth, surmounted by a
mantel, adorned with vases of ala
baster, was enlivened by the glow of
a cheerful wood-fire, whose gleams,
now shot flashingly along the room,
and now died away, into a steady and
cheerful blaze. All around the walls,
among the hangings of crimson satin,
oictures in gorgeous frames, received
rhe glow of the chandelier full on their

canvass, every inch of which, had
been made immortal by the hand of
one of the Painter-Genii of the old
world. Venus rising from the bath,
fresh in the lustre of her charms,
Apollo erect in the glory of youthful
manhood, Daphne awaiting the ap
proach of the god, Eve bending over
the fountain, in whose clear waves,
she saw another Eve, radiant as her
self; such were a few of the figures,
beaming from the pictures, hung along
the walls, with the rich folds of the
satin hangings falling carelessly aside
from their heavy frames.

The chamber, we say, was crowd
ed with ^evidences of Livingstone s. *
wealth. 7 On the centre-table of rich
Mosaic were caskets of ebony, glitter
ing with the jewels of Dora, the Mer
chant s wife ; rajejuriosities, prized
and costly from their very variety ;
vases of alabaster; antique gems,
rich with the fairy-sculpture of some
classic Artist ; and all the costly spoils
which gold, that conqueror and dis-
poiler of Art, more unrelenting than
the Goth or Corsican, had won from
the galleries and cabinets of Rome and
Florence. The carpet, whose gor
geous hues overspread the floor, con
sidered by itself alone, was worth the
price of a first rate statesman, as j
statesmen are valued in the political \
market; while the elegant sofa and ^
the chairs, elaborate with Gothic
work, and embroidery, turned into
gold, would have bought up a dozen
patriots of the common order. Alto
gether, the room was full of wealth,
luxury, and splendor, and here it
was that Dora, uncompanioned savo
by her own dark thoughts, had retired

DORA AND LUKE

***

to arrange her plans and hasten on
the fatal crime, on whose result she
nad perilled her soul.

Bu. in hour returned from the
Theatre, where she had shone among
the magnates of the Quaker City no
bility, she had thrown aside her costly
robes and assumed a garb, whose
loose folds, gathering gently around
her queenly form, displayed her
beauty to more advantage than all
the silks of France, or costumes of an
imperial Court.

Seated in that article of furniture
peculiarly American, a rocking chair,
with her head thrown back, her eyes
upturned with their lids half-closed,
while her dark tresses, released from
comb or braid, fell carelessly over
her shoulders, the lady was enrobed
in a gown of faint azure satin, whose
ample development of shape or
want of shape wide sleeves and
swelling folds, gathered round her
bust, and waist, and limbs, with a
voluptuous adaptation to every out
line of her faultless form.

Her arms were crossed carelessly
over her bosom, while the softened
light of the chandelier fell warmly
over the whiteness of her small hands
and rounded shoulders ; snowy and
roseate as alabaster, tinged by the
flush of daybreak. Her feet, in all
their delicate outlines, unconfined by
slipper or stocking, peeped from the
heavy folds of her night-robe, white
as Parian marble, and quite as beau-
tifu ,_ in their proportions as these from
which Canova modelled the feet of
his Venus.

Certainly a beautiful woman is the
greatest wonder of God s universe!
Certainty the remarkable combination

of beauties, presented by her form,
the outlines, rounded and flowing,
whether manifested in the fulness of
the bust or the faultless symmetry of
the limbs ; the various hues which are
combined in her person, the deep
black of her hair, the soft rose tint of
her cheek and lips, the alabaster of
her hands and neck and shoulders,
the lustrous darkness of her eye, and
the blackness of her brows and
lashes ; the magic of her walk, each
limb moving in as much harmony
with the general effect, as the star
circling in its orbit, compares in the
regularity of its motion with star;
certainty, we say, these beauties and
graces afford more convincing proof
of God s power, than the whole uni
verse combined !

But then, when we add to these, the
attractions of her soul, that strange
magnetism of her look, which en
chains and fascinates, that varied in
tonation of voice, which can awe us
in a whisper, or bring us to ruin with
a word, that power to flatter, to glose
a falsehood and cover the naked
blackness of a lie with such a delicate
surface of ivoried -fiction ; when we
remember that by the pressure of her
hand, slight, warm and thrilling, she
can lure the Preacher from his pul
pit, the Statesman from his solemn
thoughts, the grave Justice from his
Bench ; itjbecpmes a wonder, why that
most wonderful of all things, a beauti
ful woman, was ever permitted by the
Creator to have the power of evi)
entrusted to her nature !

Here we have Dora Livingstone
sitting in yonder rocking chair by the
light of that splendid chandelier, as

212

MABEL.

beautiful as God s own light, and yet,
in her heart, as corrupt as the black
ness of hell ! Is she not beautiful ?
Mark the head, thrown backward,
the soft flush warming over her face,
the half-closed lids, the parted lips,
so rich, so small, and yet so full and
ripe in their redness and shape ; mark
the glossy blackness of her hair,
sweeping down in careless clusters to
her shoulders, and those very shoul
ders ! how round their outline, how
soft their surface, how bewitching
that dimple, indenting itself like a
living smile into the centre of each
shoulder, just where the full arms are
joined to the queenly bust ! Ah-ha [
The bust ! How it heaves beneath
the careless folds of the satin gown
slowly, slowly, higher and yet higher,
like a wave hidden by a snow-flake !

The hands lightly crossed over that
bosom, the tapering fingers, the dim
ples along the surface of the white
skin, where the fingers, join the hand
itself, the clear nails, tinged with a
circle of deep red around their edges !
That glimpse of a wrist and an arm,

disclosed by the wide
falls, carelessly aside !

sleeve, as it
The slender

waist, its shape revealed by the volup
tuous (a good word for any thing tha.t
is easy in position, swelling in outline,
bewitching in general effect) folds
of the satin robe ! The full pro
portions of the lower part of her form,
suggest mingled ideas of stateliness
ripeness and beauty ; pleasant images
of white swans, smiling grandly
waters, ripe peaches,

over smooth
heavy from

their

very ripeness.

hanging lusciously from some bend
ing bough; or soft daybreaks, or
lovely sunsets, or still midnights, or

indeed any thing, whose beauty a
without comparison !

And then, the feet ! Ha, ha, we
have come down to the feet, and these,
let me tell you, are not the most con
temptible of Dora s beauties ! The
high instep do smile at our minute
ness the long and narrow form, the
shape of the toes, the nails, like the
fingers, tinged, each of them, with a
deep circlet of red !

A look at the face, again ! Do not
those red lips, with glimpses of the
ivory teeth, stealing out upon you,
from the interval of the moist vermi
lion, do they not, look as though they
were but made for a man to kiss once,
and then die ? The eye&--gleamin JT
between the half-closed lids, beaming
from the shadow of the long an&lt;r
trembling lashes, how beautiful they
are, as veiled in a lustrous moisture,
a mist-like dimness, they indicate the
soul, absorbed in a reverie ! The
broad forehead (a thing we do no,*
always like to see in woman) the dark
eyebrows, the regularly shaped nose
Grecian with the slightest inclination,
toward the aquiline the firm, round
chin ha, ha !

Here s a beautiful woman, sitting
easily in the rocking-chair, as a good
wife, who has not a single bad thought
should sit, and yet this beautiful wo
man*, is already in heart a Murderess !

Already false to the Honor of her
husband, she now would assail his
Life! And she, so beautiful, so queenly
and so like the impersonation of a pure
Thought in every outline of her form !
And this, was once a confiding, loving,
and boasting girl ; but the Canker of
Ambition, has warmed itself into her
Soul, the atmosphere of Sensuality, has

DORA AND LUKE.

213

changed her inner nature, while her
outward beauties remain the same !
Alas ! Alas ! Why did not Eve stay
at home in the garden of Eden, and
refrain from wandering about, she
knew not whither, and plucking for
bidden fruit, and listening to handsome
serpents ? Ever since that fatal hour,
too many of her fair daughters, have
not only plucked, but turned them
selves into, forbidden fruit; not only
listened to handsome serpents, but
[ transformed themselves into very
/ snakes, whose venom of sting, is but
1 ill-recompensed by their glittering and
brilliant exterior !

; No mark of violence, no sign of
murder, to tell the story of an untimely
death !" the thought, flashed over the
mind of the wife, but did not shape
itself into words " The world, will
say, he died of that fatal disease,
which threatened him for years

claimed looking At her watch. "You
may bring in the coffee, Thomas."

" Coffee for you and Mr. Living
stone 1 Yes ma am "

Mrs Livingstone was alone again.
Raising her form languidly from the
half-reclining position, in which she
had lain, Dora, lifted her right hand,
slowly to her very eyes, and gazed
intently upon a small phial, clasped
between her delicate fingers. The
phial not larger, than the most delicate
finger on her snowy hand, was filled
with a liquid, clear as crystal, which
sparkled like a star, within the glas?
as she raised it in the light. Wrap
ping her spotless handkerchief, care
fully around it, as ladies are wont to
do, with their smelling bottles, Dora
again relapsed into her half-reclining
position on the back of the rocking
chair.

" A drop, fresh from the phiai,
mingled with any liquid is sure to kill !

Dora of Lyndeswold, ha, ha ! *Alger- But it must be applied, the moment

non, thinks he can mould me to his
slightest purpose ! What is the block
of marble, should seize the chissel,
and change places, with the Sculptor?"

Extending her hand, she lifted the
small bell, from the white cloth of the
table at her side. A moment, and the
silvery sound of the bell, rung round
the room.

The servant in Livery, presented
himself at the door.

" Did you ring, Ma am ?"

* What time did Mr. Livingstone
say he would return home ?" exclaim
ed Dora, without turning her eyes, in
the direction of the door, which was
behind the back of her chair.

" Ha past ten ma arn."

ere the victim drinks, or it is harm
less ! That paper of the Doctor s did
me good service thanks to the cant
of the day, which educates young
girls, as though they were intended
for any thing else, but wives or mo
thers, I learned something of chymist-
ry at Boarding school,; that was before
father died. To day, I have dis
patched twenty servants, twenty dif
ferent ways, for the various drugs,
with which to prepare in liquid : sus
picion, cannot lay a finger s weight
upon me !"

" Coffee ma am, for you and Mr,
Livingstone, Ma am " said Thomas,
entering with two porcelain cups
smoking with coffee which he placeo

" It is now half-past ten." she ex- upon the smaU table, beside her cha4r.

MABEL.

This done, Thomas, who looked as
though he had been born in his grey
and velvet livery, with but the power of
saying yes ma am, no ma am, retired
from the room, in the same formal man
ner, which had marked his entrance.
Dora relapsed into her reverie,
again. A footstep sounded in the en
try, leading to the chamber. Her
frame, quivered with a slight start,
but in an instant, she sank into the
?&lt;hair again, with her head thrown
backward on the soft velvet cushion
ing. Another moment and the foot
step grew nearer.

" It is he !" she muttered, and
with an effort, maintained her care
less, half-slumbering attitude. As
she spoke, the door opened, and she
heard the pressure of the footstep
upon the carpet.

"My dear, you have been absent
very long " said Dora, languidly,
without moving from her position.

A slight, yet deep-toned laugh,
echoing behind her chair, was the
only answer she received from the
new-comer.

" Ha ! I should know that laugh "
she cried, starting, " Luke Harvey !"
she murmured as she beheld the form
of the stranger " Luke Harvey, and
at this hour ! That man is my evil
fate !"

" Excuse this intrusion, madam "
exclaimed Luke, advancing with a
slight bow " Mr. Livingstone made
an appointment to meet me at this
hour. He is not in, T preceive?"

" Mr. Livingstone is not at home !"

exclaimed Dora, rising, even in her

drshabille, with an air of freezing po-

iteness.

"Oh, well, well " replied Luke

ixing his dark eyes upon her beaut*
ul face "Well, well, it makes DO
lifference. I m one of that class who
can either wait or be * put off "

And as he spoke, with the coolest
manner in the world, he drew a chair
and sate down on the opposite side of
he table. Dora gazed upon him in
utter surprise. With one hand she
seized her dark tresses and bound
hem up within her comb, while with
an instinctive movement, she with
drew her naked feet under the shadow
of her satin night-robe.

" Ha !" cried Luke, sleepily, with
a slight yawn, as he drummed on his
bat with his fingers " Ha ! hum !
Cool evening, ma am !"

" Sir " exclaimed Dora, as her
3roud form towered proudly erect
* This is my private chamber. You
;an wait for Mr. Livingstone in the
hall, down stairs "

She fixed her dark eyes upon him
as though she would wither him with
a look.

" Sir ! " echoed Luke, with that
sneering laugh which sometimes gave
his sharp features the expression of a
sneering devil " Sir to me ! Ha,
ha ! Dora too good that ! *ir
ha, ha, ha !"

" Dora " echoed the Merchant s
wife, in a tone of utter astonishment
as though she had not heard aright
" * Dora indeed ! You are eithei
mad or impertinent, sir "

" Sit down, Dora, sit down and
compose yourself!" replied Luke,
still drumming on the crown of his
hat "Doesn t it strike you as ex
tremely odd, Dora, that you should
assume that freezing look and call me
Sir ! D ye remember the little back

DORA AND LUKE.

213

parlor in Wood street, Dora, where
you used to sit on my knee and cal
me, Luke "

** You are insulting !" exclaimed
Dora, as one burning flush of indigna
tion brightened over her face, while
her dark eyes flashed fire " Leave
the room, sir !"

" * Luke, dear Luke, you called
me, and, ha, ha, ha, kissed me "

" Leave the room !" exclaimed
Dora, growing very white in the
face. Her voice was husky with
indignation.

" Those are fine lips of yours,
Dora! Your troth was plighted to
me then, Dora ! Egad ! What a
picture you present for an artist !
Fine study for a rising genius.
1 The Enraged Beauty! One night
you kissed me so sweetly, Dora, so
lovingly ! Good night, Luke, and
kissed me ! The next day you picked
a delightful quarrel with me, and for
bade your plighted love, the house.
/"Why? Because the rich merchant,
\ Livingstone, had called at your mo
ther s dwelling. Your eye was fixed
upon him. The poor cleric was
eclipsed ! In less than six months
you were Mrs. Albert Livingstone,
wife of the merchant prince. Sir,
indeed ! ha, ha, ha !"

&lt;c Mr. Livingstone shall be inform
ed of this insult !" said Dora, in a
deep low tone, that indicated the most
deadly anger. She rang the bell vio-
ently, as she spoke.

" I presume you are about to order
your servants to thrust me from your
doors ?" said Luke, his voice sinking
to a whisper, as he leaned over the
table, and awaited her answer.

She made no reply, but sinking in
the chair, turned her face away from
her former lover, and with a gesture
of fierce anger, rang the bell as though
her life depended on its clamor.

" Thrust me from the doors ! Dear
Luke, you said, and kissed me!"
Luke bent slowly down, gazing at the
indignant woman through the shadow
of his thick eyebrows as he spoke.
" Do you know, Dora, that I often
think of that little back parlor in
Wood street ? A splendid woman on
my knee, her full arms around my
neck, her soft whispers falling on my
ears like delightful music. When
we are married, Luke, twas, thus,
you often whispered, we ll live to
gether, in some nice two-story house,
secluded from the world. Your sa
lary is small, Luke, and we may be
very poor, but and then you would
smile, Dora we have that which the
wealth of the Indies cannot give, love
Luke love ! Then you would
kiss me ! When I shut my eyes, and
forgot the Present, I can feel thoso
kisses still clinging to my lips !"

" Mr. Livingstone shall be inform
ed of this insult, sir," exclaimed Dora,
her brow darkening with rage, as with
her back turned toward Liike, she
clenched her hands in very anger.

" I pray you, inform Mr. Living
stone of my conduct !" whispered
Luke, leaning over the table, as his
band was thrust within his bosom.
Have me thrust from your doors,
nform Mr. Livingstone of my con
duct ; but, but " his voice sunk to a
.vhisper, like the hissing of a snake
*at the same time inform him of the
contents of this note/"

216

MAE EL.

Leaning over the table, he held a
letter which he had taken from his
bosom, open to her gaze.

" What folly is this !" began Dora,
as she glanced over her shoulder at
the letter, which Luke held extended
in his hand. " Ah !" she shrieked,
in utter horror, as with a lightning
glance she caught a view of the su
perscription. &lt;"^My letter to Fitz-
Cowles !&gt; Oh God, I am in this man s
power !"

She buried her face in her hands,
while her hair, escaping from the
cornb, fall wildly over her neck and
bosom.

" How interesting you look just
now \ Good night, dear Luke ! v
Will you inform Mr. Livingstone of
this insult ; will you order the servant
to thrust me from the door ?"

" Did you ring, ma am ?" exclaim
ed Thomas, opening the door.

Dora started from her seat, and ad
vanced hurriedly toward the fireplace.
Her brow was darkened by a fearful
frown, and a big^black vein marred
the beauty of her forehead.

" I am in his power !" she mutter
ed to herself. " He can, by a single
word, scatter all my schemes to the
wind, and cover me with shame !
What ! Endure the foul tongue of pub
lic slander ! Never ! Ha ! This man
must die ! I have resolved upon my
course !" She turned to the servant,
and exclaimed in her usual command
ing tones "Mr. Harvey will take
coffee, with me to-night. The coffee,
which you have placed upon the table
s cold. Bring in fresh coffee,
Thomas."

With a wild stare of amazement,
as though he suspected all was not

right, Thomas closed the door } ana
disappeared.

"You are a bold and desperate
man," cried Dora, as she advanced
toward the table, and gazed fixed 7 y
in Luke s face. "I am in your
power ! What would you with me ?"

"I thought that would bring you
down a peg or so !" exclaimed Luke,
smiling as he rattled the letter against
the table. " However, here s the
coffee" he continued, as Thomas en
tered, like a spirit, placed fresh cups
of coffee on the table, and in an in
stant was gone. " Here s the coffee.
Take a cup with me, Dora ! D ye
remember those nice little suppers ir
the back parlor in Wood street ?"

" Do me the favor, sir, to arrange
the fire on the hearth," exclaimed
Dora, in a tone as commanding as.
though she spoke to the humblest of
her menials. "The room is quite
cold ! M

Luke smiled pleasantly, as a man
is wont to smile, who indulges a child
in some trifling humor, and then turn
ing toward the fireplace, commenced
arranging the huge sticks of wood
upon the hearth.

A wild light flashed from Dora s
dark eyes. Bending slightly forward,
she held her right hand over one of
the porcelain cups, and taking the
cork from the small phial, she suffered
a single drop to mingle with the fra
grant coffee. It was the work of a
moment. When Luke turned again
from the fireplace, she was seated in
the rocking chair, her head thrown
back, as with her right hand upraised,
she made a show of applying salts to
her nostrils.

" Good coffee this /" said Luke, as

LUKE AND DORA.

he seated himself by the table. "Take
a. cup, Madam I"

Dora silently raised the cup which
was untinctured with the contents of
ihe phial. As she lifted it to her lips
she silently watched Luke s move
ments, over the edge of the cup.

" Good coffee," he exclaimed, "has
a pleasant fragrance !" He raised it
to his lips.

A slight start quivered through
Dora s frame. "He drinks " the
thought flashed over her soul " He
drinks ! He is lost ! In a moment
he will fall from the chair a lifeless
corse !"

" Good coffee, I say," exclaimed
Luke, gazing quietly at Dora, over
the edge of the uplifted cup. " Has
a surprising fragrance, but " he hesi
tated, slightly lowering the cup from
his lips, " but, Dora " and a smile
of strange meaning crossed his lips.

"What mean you, sir?" she ex
claimed, sipping her coffee with a
careless air, while her heart swelled
to bursting, and her inmost soul was
thrilled with the appaling interest of
the scene. " What mean you, sir ?"

" Fragrant coffee ; but I prefer
Cogniac to Mocha," said Luke, quietly
placing the porcelain cup on the table,
without tasting its contents. "Ha,
ha ! I can make the same remark to
you, that the convict made to the
hangman, who did his business in
such a bungling manner, that the
poor fellow, with his neck in the rope,
roared out a forcible reproof. I say,
you wasn t quick enough with the
drop? Ha, ha! Pooh! You can t
poison me, Dora! I m not one of
them kind !"

Dora could feel her heart grow cold

in her bosom. For a single instant
she felt as though she was about to
fall dead on the floor. She had but
presence of mind to conceal the small
phial in the handkerchief, and place
it within the folds of her dress, when
her very reason seemed to fail her,
and pressing her hands against her
burning forehead, a single exclama
tion escaped from her lips.
"All is lost!"

" Suppose I show the letter to your
husband ?" said Luke, with a quiet
sneer, as he stood surveying her
agony, with a silent delight.

Her bosom rose heaving from the
folds of her dress, as though convuls
ed by the agony of death. Still her
hands were pressed against her brow,
while her large black eyes, dilating
with a wild stare, glared fixedly in
the face of her torturer.

"To-morrow, to-morrow," the
bought came darkening over her soul
" I will be the scoff and jeer of all
he fashionable circles ! My name a
by-word my reputation a bauble!
And more than all more than the
scoff of the world, more than my
husband s hate, my plans will all be
scattered in ruins ! No ! No ! I will
:ry my last hope with this man he
oved me once ! And how the
bought of the degradation galls me
now I must kneel to him for mercy !"
"Zwfce/" she shrieked aloud, as
she rose on her feet, and stood before
him, a breathing picture of mortal
Agony, her hands convulsively clasp
ed, while her long dark hair, fell
glistening over her shoulders Luke?
" That sounds better than Sir," -
replied Luke in the same dry and
biting tone.

218

MABEL.

"Spare me Luke!" she shriekec
flinging herself on her knees at his
feet " Spare me Luke !"

"Ha, ha! The beauty of the
Quaker City at my feet I"

He said this with his usual dry anc
caustic laugh, but the spectacle, began
to touch the chords of his dark and
mysterious nature.

Her dark hair showering over her
shoulders, the loose robe floating wild
ly around her voluptuous form, her
womanly bosom rising into view, her
hands clasped, and her eyes glaring
with a vacant stare, she shrieked forth,
m a voice whose agony of emphasis,
no words can depict " By the me
mory of the love, you once felt for
me, oh spare me ! Mercy, Luke, in
God s name, mercy !"

" That love, which wound your
image round my heart, as never man s
love entwined the image of mortal wo
man before that love you trampled
upon !" and his snake-like eye gleam
ed with a savage light "Had you been
but a bosom friend, and stolen my
money, I would have forgiven you !
Had you been my wife, and left me
for dishonor, I might still have for
given you ! But girl that you were,
you trampled upon a heart, that would
have bled its last drop for you, you
trifled with a soul, that would have
dared eternal ruin for your sake !
Spare you? Never!"

The cool and biting tone in which
he spoke, restored Dora, to full con
sciousness and reason. She saw that
her very soul hung in a fearful ba
lance ; and by one quick operation of
her genius, she resolved to fling the
We ght of hor charms into the scale.

" Luke" she cried, spreading her

arms toward him, as she knelt at his
feet, while her eyes, swimming with
well-affected passion, were fixed upon
his countenance "You once loved
me Luke you will spare me, now !"

As if by accident she suffered the
folds of her night-gown, to slip aside,
and her white shoulder, with all its
faultless symmetry of shape, lay open
to the beams of the light.

Luke gazed upon her, and felt his
heart relent ! She knelt before him,
an embodied Tempest of voluptuous
oveliness. Her cheeks flushed in
ively hues, her eyes, beaming passion,
ier long dark hair streaming down to
ier uncovered shoulders, glimpses of
her bosom, whose womanly fullness,
now grew animate with voluptuous
agitation rising slowly in the light
Luke gazed upon her and thought of
;he olden time.

"Mercy, Luke! Mercy!"

" On one condition " he exclaimed
n a whisper, that thrilled to her very
leart.

"And that is "

He hissed a single word, in her ear,
as his dark eyes, drank in the living
)icture of her beanty.

She started as though an adder had
stung her.

" Never !" she shrieked with a

lance of unfeigned indignation.

Sooner will I face the very worst!

The world s scorn and my husband s

late !"

She had prepared herself, to use al !
he influence of her charms, to win
mercy from his iron heart, but^-to
ell herself for the letter/] Thfc
hought aroused all that pride, which
lad been the first cause of her ruin.

" This letter published, the worW

THE FREE BELIEVERS AND TRUE REPENTERS.

219

will call you an Adultress ! A
pretty word, Dora "

She quivered in every limb, as the
foul word, broke on her ears. Drop
ping her head upon her bosom, she
"Jasped his knees with her trembling
hands. The cup of her degradation
was full.

t "I consent " she murmured
* Da-with me what you will !"

" The letter is yours, Dora" he
jaid in a husky voice " You place
yourself in my power?"

" I have sold myself to you " her
voice sunk to a whisper, almost
inaudible " The price this witness of
my guilt !"

Luke gathered his arms around her
form as she knelt before him, and
bending her head slightly backward
gazed upon her face. Her eyes were
dimcast and a deep crimson flush
mantled over her face. She lay in
his arms, motionless as a statue, yet
living as a flame. Luke slowly raised
her from the floor ; her head drooped
on his shoulder, and her bosom throb
bed warmly against his breast. For
a single moment, the light of passion
"subdued the cold and snake-like gleam
of his eyes, but even in that instant,
the face of the fair and unknown girl,*
whom he had seen that morning for
the first time in his life, rose like a
guardian angel before him, and with
that vision, a frown darkened over his
forehead, and an expression of scorn
trembled on his lip.

" You place yourself in my power,
Dora ! Ha, ha ! Here s beauty for j
the sight and touch here s soft
glances of the eyes, kisses of the lip, ;
pressures of the moist hand, all for j

sale ! And I, I, with the most beau-
tiful woman in the Quaker City in

my arms, waiting to become mine

I, with this living picture of health,
loveliness and passion, in my arms
proffering her lip to my kiss, her bo
som to my touch 1 have still the

moral self denial, ha, ha, ha! to

scorn the embraces of an

Adultress /"

With that mocking laugh he flung
her rudely from him, and rushed from
the room.

Extending her arms with a faint
effort to preserve her balance, she fell
insensible to the floor.

God save from the vengeance of
this woman, the man who dared to
put such galling scorn upon her!
There she lay, all her pride and beau
ty brought down to the dust, there she
lay, her cheeks pale as death, her lips
parted, and her eyes, glaring upon the
ceiling with an unconscious stare,
there she lay, insensible and motion
less, but^he Fiend was locked within
that faultless form ; within the snowy
whiteness of that bosom, now gleam
ing coldly in the light, was Hell.

CHAPTER THIRD.

THE FREE BELIEVERS AND TRUE
REPENTERS.

" GENELMEN, my daddy vos a
scavenger and my mommy sold
rags ! On my travels again, ha,
ha ! Let me compare notes with my
self and first of all, that scene with
Dora! Don t know what in th

/20

MABEL.

deuce possessed me to work her up
o ; Livingstone merely requested me
to leave a note with her, in which he
stated that business would detain him
at the counting-house all night. I
called to leave the note, found her
alone, and I suppose some devil must
have inspired me, for I never planned
that scene myself, no, never! A
pretty mess I ve got myself into, with
all this planning and plotting ! The
old woman murdered, the Jew and
Devil-Bug escaped, and all my work
to do over again ! Peggy Grud, how
ever, is safe : and the proper authori
ties have promised to leave the arrest
of Devil-Bug to me ; I ll manage him
before to-morrow night, or my name
isn t Luke ! And that pale-faced girl,
with the soft eyes and dark hair
Parson Pyne s daughter, is she? I ll
know more about her, too, before I m
many hours older !"

Attired in the rags of Brick-Top,
with the red hair falling over his eyes,
and his face all smeared with paint
and invested with huge crimson
whiskers, Luke was hurrying down
Third street, his hands in his pockets,
and his body thrown forward, while
* his walk was that of a genuine loafer,
being made up of an Indian s tramp
when on a war-path, and a High
lander s characteristic trot ; a sort of
half-walk and half-run, with a slight
sprinkling of a lazy lounge.

To say that Luke did not relish
these excursions, for the adventure s
sake alone, would be doing him rank
injustice.* He found as much pleasure
in pursuing the thread of a difficult
enterprize, which combined danger,
romance, and mystery, as the most
indefatigable novel-reader finds in the

pages of a book like Rookwood.*
where the attention is, from first to
last, rivetted and enchained by one
passage of breathless interest succeed
ing another, in transitions as rapid
and thrilling as the changes of some
well -contested battle.

" Here s a new mystery " mut
tered Luke, as he struck into a bye-
street " Mary Arlington missing and
her brother in the bargain ! Egad,
this will be an eventful Christmas, if

* The author begs leave to record his
humble admiration of Wm. Harrison Ains-
worth, whom all the starch-and-buckram ^/
critics have been abusing so heartily for years.
Rookwood is a production of which Walter
Scott might have been proud. Ainsworth^
understands the art and theory of the plot of
a story better than any living writer.

Among other remarkable things, uttered
by an industrious compiler, named Griswold,
who, with singular modesty, has taken upon
himself to say who are, and who are not, the
Poets of America ; the following passage ia
one of the most remarkable ".Mr. Codj&gt;er is
less read in the United States tlian ITarrisor.
Ainsworth" Passing over the solemn joke
of Mistering* the greatest Novelist that
ever gave a literary name to our country
abroad, or enchained his million-readers at
home, we come to the implied sneer on the
genius of Ainsworth ; for though it s a very
dull attempt at sarcasm, still the intelligent
Griswold, with that commendable effort,
which marks all his compilations, meant to
be very bitter by insinuating this comparison
between the two men. In the first place, the
fact about Cooper being less read than Ains
worth, is a compiler sfact ; about as substan
tial, sometimes, as his title of Reverend, or
his claims to the acumen of a critic or tha
power of a genius. In the next place, we
humbly opine, that works like Rookwood
and Crichton are not to be killed with a
sneer, although that sneer comes from the
same pen, that (with its twin-scissors) has
compiled a small library of " Poetry"
" Annuals" " Curiosities" " Sermons"
"Cock Robins" illustrated and "Jack
the Giant killers" in cloth, with notes.

THE FREE BELIEVERS AND TRUE REPENTERS.

221

things keep on this way.* However,
my business to night is to follow in
the footsteps of the illustrious Parson
Pyne ! In the first place, I must
make for his Lecture Room "

Passing from the bye-street into a
dark alley, where the winter wind
was doing a fierce concert on its own
account, while the clear, cold stars
shone down between the intervals of
the roofs that almost met overhead;
Luke presently halted under the light
of a lamp which projected from the
wall of an old brick building, illumi
nated the dingy confines of an entry,
disclosed by an open door. Above
the door, a large sign bore the legend,
in bright yellow letters painted on a
dark ground

FREE BELIEVERS 1 AND TRUE REPENTERS

LECTURE ROOM,

Rev. F. A. T. Pyne Principal Free Believer
and True Rcpcnter.

UP STAIRS. Kr

" Fat Pyne is piling on the agonies"
exclaimed Luke, as the sound of a
voice, shouting out something in a
very hoarse tone, came echoing from
a distance " I ll go up and get a lit
tle patent grace from Pyne: I will
that !"

" Brethern and Sisters I ask you
a plain question, and I want a plain
answer! We have assembled on a
most interesting occasion, I might say
a sublime occasion, to which all other
occasions are but a mole-hill to the
mighty Andes, or a gin-shop to the
Palace of Nebuchadnezzar ! We have
met together to forward the objects of
our grand Association which, as you

all know, is called * The Universal
Patent Gospel Missionary Society, for
the conversion of the Pope of Rome
in particular and the suppression
of Vatican Paganism in general.*
We are a-going to send the Gospel to
benighted Rome ! Trembling in his
pontificial robes, with a Bull in one
hand, and a cup o coffee in the other,
the mighty Anti-Christ shall start in
his Vatican when he hears our thun
der a-booming over the fragrant plains
of idolatrous Italy. He shall hear our
thunder, and while his knees tremble,
and his eyes water, he shall ask his
four-and- ^enty Cardinals, as they
sit revelling in oysters and wine
* Boys, what s that / And they shall
answer, turning white from very fear
That s the American Patent Gos
pel, Pope ! That s the roaring of a
real Buffalo a-seekin to fight your
Bull ! And then the Pope shall ask,
what is the American Patent Gospel 1
As he speaks, our answer shall thun
der in his ears ! Our Gospel is a
patent improved Gospel ; a terrifier ;
a scorcher ; a real Locomotive-off-the- - f \/
track sort of a Gospel ! We hold it
to be a comfortable doctrine, to abuse
the Pope o Rome afore breakfast, and
after breakfast, and all day long !

We hold it to be a consoling belief
that of all the millions o human be
n s ever created by the Lord, three-
fourths of them are roasting in the
broad lake o fire and brimstone, this
very minnit ! Our Gospel is a gos
pel of fire and brimstone and abuse
o the Pope o Rome, mingled in
3qual quantities about half o one
and half o tother that s what cur
Gospel is !"

Standing on his small pulpit, which

222

MABEL.

looked something like a cross between
a watch-box and a bath-tub, the
Reverend Mr. Pyne, extending his
arms, with his coat thrown back, and
nis portly paunch thrust forward, his
broad face red as a turkey s gills v
and his watery eyes starting from
their sockets, thundered forth the
solemn assertion yet once more
" Fire and brimstone in the morning,
abuse o the Pope o 7 Rome at night
Brimstone and fire at night, abuse
o the Pope o Rome in the morning !
Turn it and twist it as you will, that s
what our Gospel is !"

One universal sensation spread
through the lecture room like wild
fire. The old women, sitting on the
first benches, in big black bonnets, and
long faces, groaned positively groan
ed : the old gentlemen, sitting behind
the old ladies, stuck their hands far
down in their pockets, and groaned in
chorus : while all the young men, in
white cravats, and all the young la
dies in straw bonnets, with flashing
ribbons, vented their enthusiasm in a
simultaneous cough.

The lecture room of the True Be
lievers and True Repenters was a
long and narrow apartment, with a
dingy white ceiling, from which de
pended a rusty chandelier, and smoky
walls, lone, cheerless, and desolate in
its appearance, with here and there a
great spot of indefinable black, look
ing as though the plaster had received
a bruise, and immense cracks, run
ning from ceiling to floor, like veins
in the lithograph of a coal mine. At
one end of this large room, was the
pulpit, looking, as we have said, like
a composition of a watch-box and a
bath-tub; at the other end was the

narrow door, and between the dooi
and the pulpit were seated one dense
mass of human beings, male and fe
male, old and young, high and low
rich and poor, packed together, along
uncomfortable benches of unpainted
pine, like sardines in a tin-box. Back
of the pulpit, on a green settee, were
gathered some dozen gentlemen, in
white cravats and sanctified faces,
their hands clasped on their crossed
knees, as bending earnestly forward,
they listened in painful intensity to the
words of Elder Pyne. Immediately
in front of the pulpit, around a large
table covered withja:een baize, in the
centre of which, was an inkstand, a
sheet of paper, and two quills, freshly
mended, some dozen more brothers
were seated on green chairs, their
heads thrown backward, and theii
mouths wide open, as they all listened
to the words of the pious Brother
Pyne, with an acute earnestness quite
remarkable to behold.

" Thafs what our Gospel is !" con-
tinued F. A. T. Pyne, with a final
flourish " Tho various committees
appointed at the last meeting of our
Association, will now .Re-port !"

One of the gentlemen sitting at tlit
back of the Rev. Pyne now arose and
came to the edge of the bath-tub, with
a great roll of paper in his hand. He
was a short little man, with a long
face, thin lips, and thick eyebrows,
which well-nigh concealed his dimi
nutive eyes.

" Brother Augustus Billygoat, from
the Committee on the Pope o
Rome " observed the Rev. Pyne, in
a suggestive tone to the assemblage.

" The Com-mittee on the Pope o
Rome do re-port " began Brother

THE FREE BELIEVERS AND TRUE REPENTERS.

223

Billygoat in a voice, somewhat afflic
ted by a cold " That they have ex
amined into the Pope o Rome, and
\J weighed him in the balances o th
Patent Gospel ; and he is founc
*antin as Toilers "

A great sensation. One old woman
exclaimed "tremendous !" in a tone,
somewhat too loud, whereupon a bro
ther sitting on the next seat, pinched
her lovingly in the arm.

"He is found a wantin whereas he
sends out bulls ; and the scriptur don t
tolerate any bulls ! He s found a
wantin because he lives in a sump
tuous palace called -the Wattykin !
VVe defies the whole world to find the
name o th Wattykin in the Bible !
Friends and Brethren, we of this Com
mittee think the day will come, and
is not long a comin when the Pope o
Rome, like Nebbykudneezir will have
to go to grass, and chaw roots for his
livvin ! The Watty-kin will be deso
late ! The owl will hoot through its
walls, and the rooster crow from its
towers !

" With these few brief remarks, I
lays the report on the table without
readin it in full, makin a motion at
the same time, that it shall be printed
in The Universal American Patent-
Gospel Exposition for the instruction o
futur ages!"

The motion was carried by accla
mation. Brother Billygoat sat down
amid a murmur of applause.

Another Brother rose. He was a
man of the middle height, with a look
of deep sanctity oozing from the
parchment of his saffron skin. His
eyes were, as is often the case with
persons of remarkable piety, inclined

to be watery and dump-ish. His voice
15

was a low-toned persuading kind of
voice slightly tinctured with a snuffle.
His hands were placed behind his
back, as he spoke, while his long, lank
hair fell carelessly around his cheeks
and over his ears.

It gave him great pleasure, he re
marked, to behold this demonstration.
With that he pointed emphatically at
the front bench, filled with old ladies
in large black bonnets. Such things
as this, were calculated to expand the
feelings, while they confirmed the re
ligious sentiment. As the Editor of
the Patent- Gospel Expositor, he felt
proud. As a Christian, he felt de
lighted. As a Protestant of the Uni
versal American Patent-Gospel School,
he felt enraptured. He, too, considered
it his duty to testify to the abuses of
Papal Rome. Old Babylon, ought to
be exposed, laid out, and cut up.
Those were his sentiments. In order
to carry them fully into action he
would relate a painful incident.

The Captain of an American Brig,
which made a voyage to Naples, one
summer s day suggested to his crew
and passengers, that it would be a
capital idea to visit the old Pagan in
his Vatican. The Crew, the Passen
gers, consented.

"They went to Rome " continued
the Rev. Syllaybub Scissors, as the
Editor of the Patent- Gospel was
styled " They saw the old Pagan.
There were ten men of the crew
and twenty passengers, not counting
a little boy. They all had tracts, \
from the Patent-Gospellers Association
in their pockets. The Pope sat in his
chair, with a large number of Car
dinals in attendance. It may be aa
well to remark, that the old Pagan

224

MABEL.

keeps these cardinals as gentlemen in
waiting, to bring him coffee and muf
fins or perhaps oysters. Well, the
crew and passengers, all dressed in
their best, took a view of old Anti-
Christ. But mark ye, brethren and
sisters, they are called upon to kiss
the Pope s toe. Like Americans, like
Patent-Gospellers, they refused. They
refused, the ten men of the crew, the
twenty passengers, and the little boy !
What was the consequence of the re
fusal 1 What I say was the con
sequence ?"

There was utter silence in the hall
of the Free Believers and True Re-
penters. You might have heard a
pin drop.

"Why Brethren and Sisters, I ll
tell you !" cried Syllaybub Scissors,
growing very much excited " Those
passengers, crew, captain, little boy
and ttZZ, have never been heard of
since. (Great sensation !) They
went into the Vatican, it is true, but
they never came out again ! (Tre
mendous excitement) I have nothing
further to remark, my friends, but
will close with a painful fact. It is
melancholy, but it is too true, that next
door to the Vatican is a large manu
factory for Bologna sausages. (The
excitement becomes intense.) Some
time after this painful disappearance,
an American gentleman, travelling
through Italy for his health, saw fit to
order a large amount of sausages from
this very factory. Well, the sausages
were sent home ; the American gen-
deman ordered one of them to be cut.
A slight obstruction opposed the pas-
*age of the knife. It was a small
iump of something wrapped up pretty
tight. The American gentleman with

his own ringers picked the small lump
o something from the very centre of
the sausage. It was a piece of paper
he unrolled it. Brothers and sisters,
it was nothing more than a fragment
of a Tract issued by the Patent-Gos
pellers ; and headed " A Thrust at
Pagan Rome ! Brothers and sisters,
each one of that lot of sausages en
being opened, contained one or more
of such fragments ! Brothers and sis-
ters, those ten men of the crew, those
twenty passengers, that captain, and
that little boy, all had Patent-Gospel
tracts in their pockets when they
were missed ! __ Brothers and sisters, I
will leave you to draw your own con
clusions !"

The Rev. Syllaybub Scissors sate
down amid a perfect hurricane of ap
plause. What the Free Believers
applauded it was difficult to tell.
Whether it was the Pope of Rome,
or the crew, or the passengers, or the
little boy, or the sausage manufactory,
or whether it was the American Gen
tleman, so mysteriously held in view,
to this day remains a mystery.

" Missionaries, stand forth !" cried
the Reverend F. A. T. Pyne, rising
statelily behind his bath-tub.

Three young men, with long hair,
very tow-like in hue, stuck behind
their ears, and white cravats around
their necks, stepped slowly forward,
and took their place in front of the
pulpit, crossing their hands very
meekly on their breast, and casting
their eyes, upon a particular nail in
the floor, with a sanctity of look, thai
was quite edifying, even to an uncon
verted man.

" Abel Stump, Joshua Hoe, Benijah \
Baker, are you willing to go abroad

THE FREE BELIEVERS AND TRUE REPENTERS.

225

lo the Pope of Rome, as Missionaries
sent by the Universal American Pa
tent-Gospel Association " exclaimed
Brother Pyne, in a loud voice with his
fist raised in the air, in a gesture of
indignant menace.

" We air " responded three faint
and sickly voices.

" Do you understand your calling ?"
continued Brother Pyne in his most
Boanergian voice " You are to allow
the Pagan no peace ! You are to give
him Tracts as he comes from mass,
you are to present him with a fresh
Bible every Sabbath ; you are to hail
him in the street, and tell him that in
America, the Patent-Gospellers are
raising a Buffalo to fight his Bull !
Are you willing to defy the Inquisition
in such a cause. Are you willing to
defy death *are you willing to be
made up in sausages, in such a cause ?
Are you, Brothers, I say ?"

" We air /" responded the three
faint and sickly voices.

" Here is a sight for the whole
world to see !" continued the Reverend
F. A. T. Pyne, his eyes dilating, while
his crimson face, looked like the full
moon seen through a distempered
mist " Here, standing upon the Rock
of Freedom we tell the Pope of Rome,
that his schemes are defeated, that his
Babylon has fallen ! Ha, ha ! We
laugh at the Pope of Rome ! We tell
him in tones of indignant thunder, that
his grand plan of buying up the state
of Missouri, in order to erect a Papal
Kingdom on American soil, and let
his Bulls loose, to run wild on Ameri
can prairies, has fell through been
nullified and trampled upon with the
ponderous foot of the Universal Patent-
Association He would build

a Vatican on the Banks of the Mis
sissippi, would he? He d have his
Propaganda, in the State House would
he? Yes, yes, he would have his
College of Cardinals in Faneuil Hall,
would he ? He would, but he can t !
We snap our fingers at him ! Ha, ha !
Let him jump Jim Crow in his Vatican
at Rome if he likes, but he rrms n t try
to build another St. Peter s on our Soil 1
No, no, no ! Down with the Pope
say I down with the Pope say all !
We ll fight his Bulls with spiritual
weapons, with the Patent-Gospel bowie
knife ! We ll crowd our pulpits with
lecturers no matter who they are,
or what they are, or where they come
from ! From the prison we welcome
them ! From the jail, or the galleys,
or even from the rope of the gibbet
still, still, we welcome them ! Are
they not brothers 1 Co-workers with
us? Let them but affirm that they
once were Priests of Rome, let them
but declare they are converted Jesuits,
and with all our hearts, we welcome
them ! But they must decry Rome !
Down with Rome, down with the J
Pope UP with the Bible !

"They must rake up from the
ashes of the past, all the firebrands
ever lighted in the flames of Hell !
All the old books, which show up the
atrocities of Rome, must be republish-
ed their contents shouted from the
street-corners, printed on our Patent-
Gospel Press, thundered from our Pul
pits down with the Pope of Rome !

" Awake St. Bartholomew, with
your blood and ashes and flame we
want you here ! Awake bones of the
martyrs ; awake sword of the Solemn
League and Covenant! Down with*
the Pope of Rome ! :s "

826

MABEL.

" Stir yourselves up in the good
work, brothers and sisters ! Let not
your efforts slack ! Whenever you
find a deluded follower of the Pope
teach him, or her, the error of their
ways ! If he is a porter in your em-
*A ploy, or a drayman, or a common
laborer discharge him, I say, wash
your hands of him, bid him go forth !
If she is a seamstres, or a governess,
or a hired girl, especially an Irish
Pagan hired girl turn her from your
doors !

" Thus let Pagan Rome be met at
the threshold ! Awake Guy Faux,
frith your lanthern and faggots,
awake Inquisition with your tortures,
with your fiery furnace, into whose
flames you cast those good Protest
ants, Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-
Nego awake we want, you here !
You must help to witness against
Pagan Rome !

"Down with the Pope and his
Bulls I Down with St. Peter s and the
Vatican ! Down with the Priests, and
the Monks and the Nuns, down with
the Sisters of Charity and the Orphans
under their care down with them
, - all ! Up with the Patent-Gospellers,
jp with the good old doctrine which
John Calvin preached to Servetus
from the window of his chamber,
looking out into the open square of
Geneva where that same Servetus,
a rank infidel, was burning up with
the good old doctrine, which pro
claims fire and brimstone, the cardi
nal points of the belief of the good
Savior Jesus ! Down with the Pope
up with fire and brimstone ; up
with toleration ; UP with the Bi~
We /"
ll - How the applause of the Free Be

lievers and True Repenters, rose uf
to the ceiling like the voice of si rim
huge monster ! Thunder was mere
silence in comparison ! How the old
ladies rose from their seats in extacy,
how the old gentlemen punished the
hard floor with their thick-soled boots !
How meekly the three Missionaries
resumed their seats, how warmly the
brethren, crowding round them, crush
ed their fingers with very joy, and al
most dragged their arms from the
sockets, with intense religious feeling.
But when the Reverend Pyne, re
suming his seat, took from his coal
pocket a large white handkerchief
and wiped the perspiration from his
red round face, ah me, that was the
time for the applause ! * A Quaker
City Theatre, with Fanny Ellsler on~
the stage, and all the grey-haired men
in the pit, never raised such a round
of applause as that ! Death to the
old Pagan, death to the Pope of
Rome ! Up with fire and brimstone,
up with toleration, up with the Bible !

When the excitement was some
what subdued, a faint voice was heard
echoing from a far corner of the Lec
ture Room, and the light of the rusty
chandelier fell upon the grey hairs of
an old man who trembled nervously
as he spoke.

He stated, in feeble tones, that he
was an American citizen ; that his
father had fought in the Revolution.
At Monmouth, Trenton, Germantown
and Brandywine, he had fought under
the banner of George Washington.
The old man s voice trembled as he
spoke this name ; and he paused for
a moment to collect his thoughts.

" That s the stuff!" cried the Reve-
rend F. A. T. Pyne" A soldiei

THE FREE BELIEVERS AND TRUE REPENTERS.

227

under Washington let us hear , sores to be examined and healed by

him !" I the Missionary of Jesus in this our

* Somethin against that tarnelj moral heart of Philadelphia, ere we

Pagan, no doubt !" cried an old wo
man, quite joyously.

"Now let the Wattykin look to
itself!" murmured brother Augustus
Billygoat.

" An incident for my Patent-Gos
pel Expositor 1" meekly suggested the
Rev. Syllabub Scissors.

" My father fought under Washing
ton " continued the old man, speak
ing from that distant corner of the
room, in trembling tones "
though but a mere boy, at that time,
I fought with him ! He died in my
arms on the battle-field ; his last
words were, God take my soul and
bless brave Washington ! Therefore,
brethern, I humbly think, that I have
some small claims to the title of an

cut off the limb of Pagan Rome, or
bind up the wounds of idolatrous Hin-
doostan 1

" Might not the Missionary of Jesus
find, room for much well-doing in our
Courts, ouT Churches, ~6uT" Streets,
our Homes? Might he not stand
upon the grave of old Stephen Girard
(leaving the Pagan of Rome to his
errors for a little while) and point
to Girard College that unfinished
Monument of a foul wrong, done to
ten thousand orphans and, as he
pointed, might he not call upon the
God of the fatherless to protect those
same orphans, who were scattered
abroad through the world, in order
that a Corporation might feast and
riot upon old Stephen s money 1

American: my life does not, I believe,! "Down with Pagan Rome by all
contradict the additional claim, which j means, but down with the Paganism
I make to the title of Protestant of Protestant Philadelphia !

Christian !

" My friends, I ask your attention

" And oh, friends, might not the
true Missionary of the cross enter the

to a passing thought, which struck thickly-carpeted chambers of some of
me while our Reverend Brother was our Reverend Pastors, and tell them,

enchaining you all with his eloquence, as God will tell them one day, that

Is there no need of Missionaries for j they are a blot upon the name of
other purposes than the overthrow- 1 Jesus ! That the seduction of female

ing of Pagan Rome ? *Do we not innocence is not a light crime to rest

want Missionaries in this our good upon the souls of those who adminis-

city? V os**""** ter God s Sacrament !

" Are there no holes of vice, to be " That foul-mouthed temperance in

illumined by the light of God s own public wine-drinking in private the

Gospel? Are there no poor, no sick, assailment of private character in the

no needy ? Would not a true physi- pulpit the destruction of some poor

cian first turn his knife to those girl s honor in the parlor that bitter

cankering sores which gather near controversy violent appeals to ex-

the heart of the patient, ere he pro- cited mobs, combined with insidious

ceedcd to bind up wounds or cut ofF endeavors to create those very mob*

limbs ? Are there no hideous moral that these are not the characteris-

228

MABEL

tics of God s own Ministers, but rathe
the fuel with which the Devil wil
kindle a hell for their souls !"

They silenced the old man with a
hurricane of groans.

"A Catholic!" shouted Brother
Pyne " A pagan A Roman ! Hanc
him over to the police !"

" To think of his impudence !"
screamed an old woman " To come
here an try to p ison our minds !
Papist !"

The old man felt himself seized by
the arms, and hands and coat-tail,
all at once. Brother Billygoat forced
his hat over his eyes ; Brother Sylla
bub Scissors helped to lead him out.
The three Missionaries merely groan-
sd. To the door, down stairs, into
the street old man, soldier of Wash
ington, son of a soldier, this is your
share of Patent-Gospel charity ! Into
the street, and into the dark with him
and his lies! He belongs to Pagan
Rome!

After the old man was dismissed,
the Free Believers composed their
minds in a hymn of pious import ;
being three lines to the Pope and one
to the Devil, on the average, through
ten long stanzas ; and this finished,
Brother Pyne poured forth his soul in
prayer !

Prayer! Ho, ho! Was that a
fiend s laugh as he heard the mockery
of that prayer ascend in tones of blas
phemy to the very throne of God ?
Prayer ! Hurrah hurrah ! Was
that the yell of all the devils gathered
in the shades of death, as they heard
the name of Jesus profaned, and
mocked, and polluted by the hot
breathings of yon round-faced hypo

crite? Prayer! Is this long-drawn
Anathema Maranatha, made up of
curses, falsehoods and impious vul
garities, is this prayer?

Is the whispering of the young mo
ther, over her first-born, prayer ? Is
the trembling supplication of the
father, by the bedside of his dying
daughter, uttered in husky tones with
eyes blinded by tears, is this agony
of a breaking heart, prayer? Are the
holiest feelings of the heart, rising up
from the soul to its God, in the silence
of night, when earth sleeps while
heaver^ watches its slumbers, are
these warm uprisings of man s better
nature, prayer? Are all these prayer,
and are the whining blasphemies of
yonder smooth-tongued Pander to the
ust of the Bigot, are these loathsome
falsehoods, linked together by a chain
of Scripture phrases, are these prayer ?

If this is prayer, then let us shut
the Bible and cry with the madman-
atheist of France There is no God
Death is an eternal sleep If this
be prayer, then let us blaspheme,
curse, swear, or sell our souls for a
Preacher s hire any thing but pray !

The Free Believers dispersed a*
soon as the howl of Brother Pyne was
over. How the sisters and the brothers
hronged around the Reverend Brother
as, with his cloak wrapped around his
)ortly form, he hastened from the
room ! What pressing of hands, what
icking at his cloak, what glancing
n his face ! Old and young, fair and
bul, red lips and grey hairs, all joined
o do the Parson honor ! How was
lis cold ; had the Lord been good to
n m lately ; had he heard from that
)oor, wretched, runaway daughter;

STRANGE VISITORS IN MONK-HALL.

229

was he blessed in prayer ; and did he
not hurt himself by studying so late
at night !

Down stairs, followed by his loving
congregation, Brother Pyne pursued
his way, Brother Billygoat clinging to
his arm, while Brother Scissors,
with the three Missionaries, hung
closely at his heels. The alley was
reached, and in a few moments the
saintly quadruple, stood in the bye-
street, where a carriage waited for
Brother Pyne, with a stout lusty coach
man on the box, wrapped up in an
unknown number of overcoats, with a
broad hat flapping its broken rim over
his eyes.

" Good night, sisters, good night

/brothers !" said Brother Pyne, in a

/ tone of spermaceti smoothness

" Good night, my children, good

night !"

The door closed, and the carriage
drove off.

" He goes to his night-long studies,
after the Truth !" cried Brother Scis
sors, wiping his nose with the cuff of
his sleeve " Let Pagan Rome look
out !"

" Dear heart !" echoed an old lady
kt And so he studies all night, does
he ! A bringin 1 himself to the grave
with his zeal !"

" The saints and martyrs are no
thing compared to Brother Pyne !"
meekly exclaimed Brother Billygoat,
expectorating violently on an old
lady s bonnet " Let Pagan-Rome
look out for its Wattykin ; that s all !"

Meanwhile the carriage, containing
the Foe of Pagan Rome, dashed down
the street like mad, the coachman
lashing the horses into perfect fury,
while a poor ragged loafer, gliding

from the side walk, crept up behind
the vehicle, and assumed a quiet seat
all to himself, without saying a word
to the holy preacher within, or the
white-coated driver in front.

At the corner of a wide street, the
coachman held up for a single mo
ment. He tapped the window of the
carriage with the handle of his whip.

" Vich vay ?" he shouted in a deep,
hoarse voice.

Down went the carriage window,
and the red round face of Parson Pyne
was thrust out into the full glare of
the gas-lamp on the corner,

" Down town, of course, Simon
I ve got to visit the sick you know "

" In vich quarter ?"

" Monk-Hall !" whispered the
preacher, and then the coachman
cracked his whip, the carriage win
dow went up, and the carriage rol
led off, while the poor loafer, sitting
behind, chuckled merrily to himself,
and whistled for very glee !

" My daddy was a scavenger, and
my mammy sold rags ! Ha, ha, ha ^
Hurrah ! Down with the Pope and
the Wattykin ! Up with the Patent-
Gospel, up with Monk-Hall ! Let
Pagan Rome look out foi itself
hurrah !"

CHAPTER FOURTH.

STRANGE VISITORS IN MONK-HALL.

THE beams of a small lamp of rusty
iron, standing on the table near the
firef gave a faint and dusky light to
the Doorkeeper s den. Devil-Bug was

230

MABEL.

seated beside the table, with his elbows
resting on its rough oaken surface,
while his hands grasped his tawny
cheeks, the long finger nails sinking
into the flesh like the talons of an
eagie, and spotting his face with drops
of blood. His teeth were fast clenched,
but his lips, hung apart, shrivelled
with a fixed and grotesque grin ; like
the smile of a fiend, frozen into mar
ble. His thick, matted hair hung over
his protuberant brow, and his solitary
eye, dilated and enlarged to twice its
usual size, glared steadily forward,
with one fixed and unvarying gaze.
The light streamed full in his face,
revealing each hideous feature in stern
and immovable distinctness, while the
outlines of his deformed body, and the
details of the den, were wrapt in a
twilight shadow. In the recess on one
side of the fire, sate the negro Mus-
quito, his arms crossed, and his head
sunken on his breast, while on the op
posite side of the fire, his companion,
Glow-worm, rested in the same atti
tude, and slumbered like some over
grown animal who has been gorged
with food. Their common costume
the red flannel shirt and corduroy
trowsers dimly disclosed in the light
seemed to increase the outlines of their
herculean frames, while it gave them
a wild and ruffian-like appearance.

Alone in his den, with his attendant
satellites slumbering on either side,
Devil-Bug sat silent, as though he was
but an uncouth effigy of stone, while
his fingers, digging their talon-like
nails slowly in the flesh of his cheeks,
gave some indications of the terrible
agony which was eating through his
soul. He hid sate thus silent and

motionless for the space of an hour,
when the small door, leading into the
hall of the mansion, was softly open
ed, and our friend Brick-Top, clad in
his array of rags, came treading
stealthily into the Doorkeeper s den.

He started at the sight of Devil-Bug &gt;
but in a moment advanced, and laid
his hand upon the Doorkeeper s
shoulder.

" You re a purty old cove, aint ye,
now ? To run ofF, and leave a feller
in the lurch ! The old ooman s dead
body up stairs and the poleese below !
Pack me up in a see-gar box, some
body, and bury me in a common for
a werry infant, arter that l tv $*fcjr

" Ha ! What brings you here ?*
cried Devil-Bug, starting from his re
verie " Where did you leave the Jewt
And the chest o gold hey, hey ?"

" What brings me here ? Business
o course ! You see it aint pleasant
to have the poleese inquirin arter yer
health, specially when an old wo
man s been knocked in the head, by
some indewidooals at present un
known. So I came to the Pawn
broker s went down stairs and along
the vault, and then up stairs again
you know the way. Here I am, and
there you are, and we re both a pair
o beauties for Cherry Hill ! Brick.
Top and Devil-Bug hurray !"

" Where did you leave the Jew ?"
said Devil-Bug with a fierce scowl as
he struck his fist against the table
" And the chest o gold hey, hey ?"

"Young man does yer mother
know yer out ? Venever ye meet a
werry green young genelman, as
doesn t know what huckleberries is
compared with persimmins, then axe

STRANGE VISITORS IN MONK-HALL.

231

him sich a question I I don t know
nothin bout the Jew, no more nor
yesself!"

" S-h-ew !" whispered Devil-Bug
with a sudden start as he motioned his
companion to be silent "S-h-ew !
Don t ye see that feller a lay in on the
floor with his jaw bruk and his tongue
out?"

" Cussed if I do !"

11 Nor the old woman, with the
brains oozeing out from the holler

skuii ?"

" Not the least circumstance !"
" S-h-ew ! Don t ye hear that fel
ler groan? Look how he wriggles
th ere a-twistin and twistin like a
snake, and his tongue rollin out all
the while! And the old woman
don t ye see her ? I tell you ma&lt;i,
she s there there right between us
on the floor ; her holler skull layin at
my werry feet, and her long grey
hair7 ndabblin in her blood ! Don t
see her indeed ! He ! He !" and he
smiled ghastlily " Why man, I tell
ye, I can count the blood-drops as
they fall patter patter from the
holler skull to the floor !"

And the solitary eye of Devil-Bug
glared wildly from the shadow of his
brow, while the sweat, cold and clam
my, stood out on his forehead and
trickled down his swarthy face.

" And not to git the chest o doub
loons arter all !" Kin ye read feller,
1 say kin ye read ?" he exclaimed in
n fierce tone, as he laid his hand on
Brick-Top s arm " Or are ye a stu
pid jackass as don t know nothin ?"

" Shut me up in a coal mine al
my life, and make me chaw dirt for a
livin ! Kin I read ? I wish my dad
dy could hear you say that! He c

show my school bills, old chap, with
a wengeance to ye !"

" Here s a package o papers, which

picked up on the stairs o th widow s
louse. Sit down on t other side o th
able and read em to me !"

Brick-Top sate down on one side of
he table, while Devil-Bug resumed
lis seat opposite.

: Papers !" cried Brick-Top pulling
his lank rad hair down over his brows
" Egad !" he muttered to himself

The very packet entrusted to me by

ivingstone this morning ! The seal
Broken, too !"

" Read, will ye ? And mind yer
eye feller! If I ketch you play in the
bol with me, and readin any stuff
what isn t there, I ll make no bones of
iurtin your body so no doctors wont
3uy ye arter yer a corpse !"

- " Talk that way to the Wolunteers,
will ye ? Howsomever, here goes into
the doc-y-ments "

In a low toned voice, still marked
by his vagabond accent, Brick-Top
began to read the contents of the
package.

At first Devil-Bug leaned over the
table with a look of the deepest inter
est, but soon the details of the pack
age seemed to tire him, and he leaned
listlessly to one side, with his eye
fixed vacantly upon the ceiling. Brick-
Top read on. A name attracted Devil-
Bugs attention, and then a date, and
an incident. He leaned over the table,
his solitary eye blazing with the most
intense interest.

" Look here, youssir you aint
a-foolin me are ye? Ellen did ye
say !"

" The werry same," replied BricR
Top burying his face in the unrolled

232

MABEL.

package. His attention also seemed
rivetted to the paper and its contents,
for his glittering and snake-like eye
grew more brilliant in its glance,
while the outlines of his countenance
became fixed and compressed. Brick-
Top pulled his red hair farther over
his brow, until it almost concealed his
eyes, and then resumed the reading
of the paper.

Devil-Bug listened with every power
of his soul, enchained by an over
whelming interest. His solitary eye,
dilated and flashed with excitement,
and the nails of his talon-like fingers
were thrust into his tawny cheeks
with a movement of involuntary agi
tation.

" Christmas Eve ?" he echoed, re
peating the words of the Manuscript
as they fell from the lips of the read-
er " Christmas Eve, Eighteen hun
dred and twenty four 1 Hallo, yous-
sir 1 Is them the words ?"

" The werry same !" replied Brick-
Top raising the paper before his face
" Left her mother s house on that
date"

" Read on will ye ? Don t ye see
Vow I m a quiverin ? I want to know
the rest read on !"

Brick-Top again turned his atten
tion to the Manuscript. Devil-Bug was
utterly absorbed in its details. He
held his very breath, as he drank in
each word, and date and incident.

"^The second child died, did it ?"
he shrieked, starting wildly from his
sea t Now look here feller, if you re
got the feelin s of a common human
bein don t make a fool o me ! Read
it agin be sure that it s the second
child ; jist be sure o that !"

"The second child born Christ

mas Eve, Eighteen hundred ana
twenty four " exclaimed Brick-Top
reading from the Manuscript, while a
slight tremor was observable in his
voice.

"That s the date, too, that s the
date !" cried Devil-Bug in a voice of
the deepest agitation " Look here
feller, d ye see that arm ? The night
arter she left this house, I got a sailor-
chap to print this here with Injin ink."

And as he spoke, Devil -Bug bared
his right arm, and thrust it forward
into the full glare of the light. Brick-
Top gazed upon it in surprise. On its
brawny skin, in rough characters,
was punctured, this brief name and
date "CHRISTMAS EVE 1825 EL.

"And so ye know d her did ye?"
exclaimed Brick-Top gazing in Devil-
Bug s face with a piercing glance,
while his lip tr~mbled with some un
known emotion " Werry singular
that !"

" Know- d her ?" responded Devil-
Bug in a tone of sudden anger
" Don t axe no questions feller, but
read on !"

Brick-Top again resumed the Man
uscript. A name, once more started
Devil -Bug from his feet.

"Dick Baltzar?" he echoed
" Sure that s the name ?"

" The werry same. Here it is

The second child, was buried by a
man named Dick Baltzar, who with
his wife, resided in the widow s
house. The jirst child " howsom-
ever let me read on !"

The Manuscript drew near its close.
His brows woven in frown, his teeth
clenched, his hands clutching his
cheeks with a convulsive grasp, Devil-

STRANGE VISITORS IN MONK-HALL.

233

Bug listened to the closing words with
breathless interest.

"The whole of his fortune?"
echoed Devil-Bug repeating the words
of the Manuscript " Luke Harvey
entrusted with the commission 1 Hey,
hey? Is that it?"

Brick-Top nodded, but said nothing.
Well was it for him, that Devil-Bug
occupied with his own strange thoughts,
had no eye for his companion s de
meanor. A tear stole from Brick-
Top s eyelid and rolled down his
freckled face. His hand trembled as
he grasped the Manuscript, and his
lip quivered with a tremulous motion.

" Luke Harvey 1" muttered Devil-
Bug " He s a wild fellow, and one
of the devil s disciples who hold their
meetings in this house ! A purty chap
to have sich a matter in his charge !
He ll be here sometime to night, and
I ll have a talk with him ! Gi me that
paper will ye?"

" I say, old feller, come now and
uncork this mystery ! Let a body
know all about it that s a conwivial
old devil !"

Devil-Bug turned toward him with
a lowering brow, but as he turned a
knock was heard at the front door.

" Dig oft feller!" said Devil-Bug,
with great emphasis " Taint for sich
as you to know what quality comes
to this house ! Dig, I say !"

Brick-Top lounged lazily toward
the doorway of the mansion-hall,
while Devil-Bug, unbarring the front
door, gazed through the crevices of
the green blinds upon the form of the
new-comer.

"Who s there?"

" Monk Baltzar " answered an
assumed and artificial voice.

"What had you for dinner to
day ?" asked Devil -Bug, repeating the
first part of the countersign of Monk-
Hall.

" Fire and Brimstone !" answered
the voice.

"Come in!" said Devil-Bug "All
right ! The gal s up stairs in the
room I ll be up d rectly !"

And as he spoke the Reverend
Parson Pyne strode silently across
the floor of the den, and with his face
muffled in the folds of his cloak,
passed through the doorway, and
along the hall, and up the stairs ; and
in a moment disappeared into one of
the rooms on the right side of the
massive staircase, on the second floor
of the mansion. As he disappeared,
a tall figure rose upward from the;
darkness, which hung round the ban
nisters of the staircase near the floor.

" Parson, I think I ve tracked you
to some purpose !" said a deep-toned
voice " The girl your daughter and
you in Monk-Hall ! I ll drop Brick-
Top for a little while and assume Luke
Harvey again, in order to be ready
for all accidents ! My game is a des
perate one, but I ll play it with a cool
head and firm hand !"

With these words he disappeared
into the door of Luke Harvey s room;
and in a moment the sound of the
key, turning in the lock, echoed faintly
round the hall.

Mean while Devil-Bug, standing near
the table, in the centre of his den, with
his arms crossed over his breast and
his right hand grasping Livingstone *
mysterious packet, seemed utterly ab
sorbed in the contemplation of the-
disclosures which it had revealed.

The sound of voices, mingling con

234

MABEL

fusudly together, came echoing sud
denly from the stairway leading to the
Banquet-Room of Monk -Hall. And
then a rude burst of laughter, resound
ed through the hall, mingled with the
hurried tramp of footsteps.

" Ha, ha, ha ! And so you drugged
the brother with opium !" exclaimed a
voice familiar to the reader " That
was an odd mistake of mine, Gus,
about the fellow s name !"

"To think Silly should introduce
him to you by the name of Byrne-
wood !" cried another voice " And
then ha, ha, ha ! the Bridal scene !
Oh Lord, that was too good, wasn t
it, Gus !"

" Very good, no doubt, very good,
gentlemen " exclaimed a third voice
"But there are some jokes which
cost a mint of money. I rather think
suspect that this amusing adventure
is one of the costly class !"

Ere the words had ceased to echo
in the air, Lorrimer, followed by
Petriken and Mutchins, lounged into
the Doorkeeper s den. Their faces
was slightly flushed by the kisses of
that long-necked giant, the champagne
bottle, and their entrance into Devil-
Bugs s private parlor, was heralded
by clouds of smoke issuing from the
segars which the trio carried between
their lips.

"Well, boys" cried Petriken,
moving toward the door " Let s out
and have a night of it ! My Western
Hem. was put to press to day, and so
I m free for a fortnight ! D ye see
my last Hem., Mutchins ?"

"Never, except on one occasion,
after a long night s carouse, when my
temples were bursting with the effects
of the champagne. "I wanted to sleep

and couldn t for the life of me. How
ever, happening to pick up a copy of
the Western Hem. with Autumn, a
Homologue : by S. J. Petriken, I fell
into a gentle doze after the first twenty
lines, and slept for thirty-eight hours,
as I m a living sinner ! Is your Mag.
printed near a laud num factory,
Silly?"

" Pshaw ! You ought to see the
last number ! Two engravings, one
tragic, one comic ! Tragic the death
o Cock Robin, with an illustrative
piece o poetry, by my friend Deacon
Shewbrush ! Comic Nigger church
on fire, with the Sheriff and Court
looking on, to see that it is done in
an effective manner.* Good number,
that !"

" Come on, fellows !" exclaimed
Lorrimer, who had been gazing
quietly at Devil-Bug, as he stood un
conscious of their presence " Let us
out, and make a night of it !"

As he spoke, a hand was laid upon
his shoulder, and Long-haired Bess
stood before him, her jet-black tresse?
hanging dishevelled along her \vhite
neck, while the peculiar brilliancy of
her eyes, with the dark circle of dis
colored flesh beneath each eye, gave
indications of deep and powerful agi
tation.

"Well, Bessie, what s the matter

* See the charge of a certain Judge, in
which he instructs the Grand Jury to present
a certain Hall as a nuisance, because it was
threatened by a mob, and, therefore, it en
dangered the surrounding property. It was
owned and used by Negroes for benevolent
purposes. This latter fact furnishes sufficient
apology for any act of outrage in a city where
Pennsylvania Hall was burnt by the whole
population, because the object for which
was built happened to be unpopular

STRANGE VISITORS IN MONK-HALL.

235

now ? How is the girl, that is to j
say, how is Mary 1"

" She has lain unconscious all day
long, until within a few minutes past"
answered Bess, in a low-toned voice
" She has now recovered her rea
son. She does nothing but wring her
hands as she paces up and down the
room ; nothing but wring her hands
and shriek your name. Lorrimer,
you had better see this girl before you
leave the house "

" Why the fact is, Bessie, I don t
see the necessity of the thing"
answered Lorrimer, moving towards
the door " Quiet her, Bessie, quiet
her ! I will see her to-morrow !"

" Have you a man s heart within
your bosom ?" said Bess, with a flash
ing glance of her dark eyes " Can
you refuse this request? Do what
ye will with Byrne wood, but for the
sake of your own self-regard, do not
refuse this request ! She is dishonor
ed, Lorrimer, but who was the cause
of her dishonor? Do not refuse to
look upon the ruin which has followed
your crime !"

" Not to-night, Bessie, not to
night " cried Lorrimer, moving to
ward the door " Any time but to
night ; as for Byrne wood "

" That ere patient is in the hands
of the Doctor " exclaimed Devil-
Bug, advancing. " I give him a leetle
opium to begin with ; arter a-while I ll
per-soribe somethin more coolin a
leetle hard steel for instance. Vonders
how that ill vork ?"

As he spoke, Lorrimer and his
companions disappeared through the
front door, with a loud burst of laugh
ter.

* He is gone !" cried Bess, folding

her arms across her bosom- - " God
of Heaven! The shriek of that mined
girl is ever in my ears, its accents of
despair freezing my soul with a horror
I never felt before ! And the bro
ther"

" I tell ye, Bessie, I ll tend to him !"
cried Devil-Bug, with his hideous grin
" Go up stairs an tend to the fe
male wictim, my dear, go along my
duck. I think I hear your mammy
callin for you "

Bess looked at him with a glance
of scorn, and then her deep black eyes
flashed with an expression whose
awful meaning thrilled him to tho
very soul.

" Don t you see the corse at your
side ?" she shrieked, as she stood in
the doorway" Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! There
is evil in store for you, Devil-Bug,
evil, I say, and doom and death !
Hark ! hark ! Don t you hear him "
and she pointed to the floor " Hark
how he groans !"

And she was gone. Her wild shriek
rang like a death-knell in Devil-Bug s
ears.

" That gal is a born devil " he
said, in a whisper, as he wiped the
cold sweat from his forehead " Ha !
There s the feller agin his jaw broke,
and his tongue lollin out ! Ha ! And
the old woman too ; her holler skull
droppin blood on the floor! But
I ll not be troubled this way much
longer " a ghastly smile crossed
visage " It seems to me I ve got to
wade through blood up to my neck !
I m only ancle-deep jist now arter
a while I ll swim in blood, I ll float, I
tell ye I ll float. As to that Byrno-
wood "

There was a knock at the door.

236

MABEL.

a
-9

Musquito, rising from his slumber,
slowly opened the inner door and de
manded the watchword of the new
comer. It was given in a faint voice,
and in a moment the stranger entered
the den. He was a young man with
a figure somewhat below the middle
heighth, whose elegance of shape and
beauty of proportion, was disclosed to
every advantage, as his sweeping
black cloak fell carelessly back on his
shoulders, its collar of fur, almost
concealed by the thick ringlets of jet-
black hair, which swept along the fair
face of the stranger. It was, indeed,
a fair face, almost effeminate in its
regularity of feature, while its extreme
pallor gave additional effect to the
brilliancy of two large black eyes,
whose glance was full of fire and ex
pression. A small velvet cap placed
jauntily on the centre of his head,
amid a profusion of black curls which
fell waving over his fair brow, as well
as along his face and down to his
neck, gave an air of saucy daring to
the stranger, which won Devil-Bug s
good opinion for him at first sight.
His form, remarkable for its effemi
nate beauty of shape, was enveloped
in a close-fitting black frockcoat, but
toned tightly over the breast, with its
dark hue relieved by a large white
shirt collar that fell aside from the
fair throat of the stranger.

" Well, young slim-waist, who are
ye, and what d ye want here?" said
Devil -Bug, more from his habitual
taste for sarcasm than from any posi
tive dislike to the stranger " You re
not one of the Monks, I perceive.
How did ye git hold o th watch
word ?"

1 Your name is Abijah K. Jones ?"

said the stranger, in a tone which was
evidently assumed.

" Taint that no more !" cried the
Doorkeeper, with a look of mocking
glee " Devil-Bug for ever ! While
there s strength in these arms .0
strike or to kill, call me Devil-Bu?
and I m your man !"

The stranger quietly seated himself
beside the table, and gathering tho
cloak around his slender form, care
lessly tossed his dark ringlets over
his brow and looked in the face of
Devil-Bug with a long and penetrat
ing glance.

"Portr it painter, I s pose?" said
Devil-Bug, with a grin " Wants to
put my phizzog in the pictur win-
ders."

"You know a man named Luke
Harvey " said the stranger in a deep
voice widely different from the care
less tone, which he had assumed at
first.

" Well, I do, boss. But fust of all,
who are you ! How did ye git hold o
that watchword ?"

" No matter about my name "
answered the stranger " The watch
word of Monk-Hall, was given to me
by one of the Monks. To the point
You know a man named Luke Har
vey. He will be in this house, by
three o clock to morrow morning. 1
hate him, and he must die !"

" Ha, ha, ha he You are a handsome
copy o Devil-Bug ! Ha, ha ! How
your eyes sparkle, how your teeth
grit agin one another ! You hate him
and he must die ! Quite short ha,
ha, ha !"

" Kill him, for me, kill him by the
pistol or the knife, by fire or by the
sword, any way you like, kill him

STRANGE VISITORS IN MONK-HALL.

231

this riighl, and I ll make a rich man
of you ! There is gold for you, as an
3arnest of your future reward."

" Right fat purse, this ! How your
chest swells underneath that cloak,
and your eyes ; one could light
tfee-gar at em !"

" This Luke Harvey carries a ring
on the third finger of his left hand.
Its shape is peculiar, and it bears a
name, engraven on the inner side.
This ring was given him by his ladye-
love long, long ago : he values it, as
his life, and will not part with it save
with his life. I will wait in a secret
chamber of this house until daybreak.
Bring me this ring, before the dawn
of day, and I will reward you, with
gold sufficient to buy you ten thousand
pardons, from the hand of justice "

" Or a seat in Congress, or a place
on the Bench, among them big chaps
in court ! I venders how that ud vork ?
Devil-Bug in Congress, makin laws ?
Or Judge Devil-Bug ho ! ho ! ho !
on the bench a-sentencin little boys to
Cherry Hill for stealin nose-wipers !"

" Do you consent ?" said the stran
ger, gathering his cloak more closely
around his form " Is it a bargain ?"

His eyes, so dark in their hue and
piercing in their gaze, grew alive
with a clear and flashing light, that
spoke the settled resolve of a fearless
soul. A deep flush mantled over his
face, and his lips were firmly com
pressed, while, beneath the thick curls
which fell over his forehead, you
might discover the settled frown which
darkened his brows, so regular and
arching in their outline. His breath
".ame thick and gaspingly, and you
might discern the throbbings which

agitated his chest, through the heavy
folds of his cloak.

" Consent ? Ha, ha ! S pose I should
pocket this ere money and then laugh
in your face ?"

" You would lose the reward
which is in store for you " drily res
ponded the stranger.

" That reward is about your slim-
waisted body? S pose I take it from
you, and turn you from my doors with
a flea in yer ears ?"

" You dare not " said the stran
ger, throwing his cloak back on his
shoulders, and displaying a pistol in
ither hand" One word of insolence,
one sign of violence, and you die !"

" Pluck, good pluck ! Ha, ha, ha !"
laughed Devil -Bug " Good pluck for
a slim waist, good pluck for a heaving
3osom, ha, ha, ha ! Stranger, push
aside your curls, will ye ? What Ml!
ye bet I can t tell your name ?"

" My name !" cried the stranger,
with a sudden start, as he hurriedly
gathered the folds of his cloak around
lis handsome form. " My name
What know you of my name ?"

" Your name is " Devil-Bug be-
*an, in a slow and deliberate voice.
3e ended the sentence by a quick
whisper which he hissed in the stran
ger s ears, as he leaned over the table,
with his head thrown forward until it
well-nigh touched the face of the list
ener.

But we must depict a scene which
occurred one hour before this incident
of our Revelations^

MABEL.

CHAPTER FIFTH.
DORA AND FITZ-COWLES.

WE open this scene with a pifiiyre.
f -Kneeling on the carpet of a princely
chamber, a man of some thirty years
and more supports the insensible form
of a lovely woman in his arms. T
dim light of a massive chandelier
illumines the scene. The dark-hued
face of the man, marked by massive
features, his stiff black hair descend
ing to his neck in heavy curls, his
well-proportioned form clad in a black
frockcoat, all combined furnish an ef
fective contrast to the careless loveli
ness of the woman, her fair-hued face
turned upward to the light, her long
and glossy hair, falling in tresses of
jet along her shoulders white as snow,
while a night-gown of azure silk,
gathering round her form, so swelling,
so lithe and so voluptuous in its every
outline, in negligent folds falls gently
aside from her neck, and reveals a
glimpse of her bosom, slowly heaving
into view.j

A dark and ill-omened smile rests
upon the lip of the man, as he surveys
the beauty of the insensible woman,
while a gentle flush, tinting her cheeks,
and warming over her bosom, betrays
her return to consciousness. The mi
nor details of the scene, tell the story
of the picture. In her extended hand,
she grasps a letter, with a convulsive
grasp like that of death. His hat and
cane and gloves, flung carelessly on
the carpet, his cloak thrown over a
chair, and the door of the chamber,
hanging wide open, all tell the story
of his sudden entrance and his surprise.
The back ground of the scene is sup

plied by the furniture and the crimson-
hangings of the chamber, varied by
pictures in massive frames, and mel
lowed into gentle twilight by the dim
beams of the chandelier. Altogether,
the picture is an effective one, worthy
the genius of an artist who has a soul
to feel, and a hand to execute; like
I)aley) for instance, whose pencil is a
mine of un wrought gold.

" A lovely woman, by Jove ! "
muttered Fitz-Cowles " And a deep
one ! Passions like a volcano, and a
soul fearless as the fiend himself! I
must take care that she does not out-
devil me !"

" Is he gone ?" Dora exclaimed
in a whisper, as she slowly unclosed
her eyes" Ha ! Fitz-Cowles ! Then
you know, all 7" arid half-rising from
her prostrate position she gazed in his
face, with a look of the most intense
anxiety.

" All Dora ?" echoed Fitz-Cowles
with a look of vacant surprise

What mean you?"

As he spoke, he gently assisted her
to rise from the floor.

" Know you this letter ?" she ex-
laimed, in a whisper, as she threw
herself in the rocking-chair, and placed
the letter in his hands.

" Your letter to me !" cried Fitz-
Cowles, with a start of surprise " I
ost it from my pocket-book, sometime
yesterday. How fortunate for us both
hat you found it !"

" Luke Harvey found it !" exclaim
ed Dora, in a slow and deliberate tone,
as she leaned over the table " And
Luke Harvey holds us in his power !
A single word from his lips, and our
secret is known to Livingstone "

"Luke Harvey!" exclaimed Fitz-

DORA AND FITZ-COWLES.

Cowies, recovering from the stunning
shock of surprise which had thrilled
his very soul, as Dora made the mo
mentous disclosure "And he was
here and threatened you, Dora?"

" Not only threatened me, but
assailed me with deliberate and gall
ing insult. It is but five minutes
since he left the room. We stand
upon the edge of an awful precipice,
Algernon; already it crumbles be
neath our feet ! A word from Luke,
and our plans are overshadowed by
utter ruin "

"He visits Monk- Hall to-night!"
.^claimed Fitz-Cowles, with his finger
10 his lip, in an absent tone " Visits
Monk-Hall with our secret in his
possession. A single blow, and he
were silent forever !"

"That blow must be stricken!"
exclaimed Dora, and a deadly light
flashed from her dark eyes as she
spoke. " Luke once silenced, we are
safe ! To-morrow morning, Living
stone and myself leave town for
Hawkwood. To-morrow evening, Liv
ingstone will have to return to town
on business, and after he has set out
Dn his return, you will arrive at
Hawkwood in the secrecy of night.
We can then arrange matters for our
flight or otherwise "

" My plan is a plain and a clear
one. After Livingstone has set out
on his return to the Quaker City, I
will arrive at Hawkwood, and then,
mounted on fleet steeds, with suitable
disguises, we will leave the country
mansion together ; and riding all night
overtake the New York cars near
Burlington. It is then but half a
day s journey to New York ; and the
steamer sails in the beginning of next

week. This is a straightforward
plan, Dora, and we would both do
well to adopt it "

" I have other plans which may
essentially alter our arrangements "
said Dora, in a deep and meaning
whisper, with that same deadly glance
of her eyes "However, Algernon,
do not fail to meet me at Hawkwood
to-morrow night. But what folly is
this ! While we lay plans for our
flight, Luke Harvey is telling Living
stone the story of his wife s guilt and
his dishono/ !"

" This Harvey seems to hate you,
Dora " began Fitz-Cowles, aloud,
but he finished the sentence by a
muttered whisper "By Jove! He
is on my track also ! I learn from
that Buzby Poodle whom I have
been forced to buy that Harvey was
dogging the Jew s heels to day ! That
same Luke has a spiteful black eye !"

"Hate me!" echoed Dora "Ha,
ha, ha ! To tell you the truth, Fitz-
Cowies, he was &lt;once a lover of mine,
I rejected the poor fellow, he has ex
changed his love for spite, and now
would sell his soul to ruin me ! He
must be silenced, Fitz-Cowles ?"

She leaned over the table, fixing her
dark eyes with a meaning glance
upon the face of her paramour. Fitz-
Cowles involuntarily averted his eyes,
and shaded his brew with his up
raised hand. Dora gazed upon him
silently and sternly for a sing- 1 * mo
ment, and then laid her fair wniie
hand upon his arm.

" He must be silenced !" she re
peated in that same deep whisper.

" The Jew is safe by this time ; I
have nothing to fear from that quar
ter !" muttered Fitz-Cowles. " Why

MABEL.

the fact is, Dora, I hardly think the
man would have showed you this let
ter had he meant to betray you. He
will attend the banquet in Monk-Hall
to-night, and consequently cannot see
Livingstone before to-morrow. By-
the-bye, where is the old fellow V

" Mr. Livingstone sent me word by
the servant that matters of pressing
business would detain him at the
counting house all night, until the
hour of our departure to-morrow
morning. To be plain with you,
Algernon, I do not feel safe while
this man Harvey lives with the power
of mischief at his control. Can
you think of no plan to secure his
silence ?"

" Tut, tut ! He is not worth our
notice, Dora " exclaimed Fitz-
Cowles, resuming his hat and cane,
and moving towards the door. " Let
him take his own course. He is too
pitiable a thing to cause one solitary
fear. By-the-bye, you must excuse
me, Dora I left a friend waiting in
the parlor down stairs. Remember,
Dora, to-morrow night we meet at
Hawkwood "

" My disguise is safe in the next
room," exclaimed Dora, assuming a
careless and languid manner. " By-
the-bye, Fitz-Cowles, how does your
Club manage Monk-Hall? Are you
assured of the silence of your subor
dinate ? Now if any person who has
money to clear his way can enter the
mansion, I would not give a straw for
the secrecy of the place "

" Ha, ha ! You women are so
curious!" laughed Fitz-Cowles
" Anybody enter the Hall ? Non
sense No one can enter without
the password, which is changed by

the Abbot every night. Old Devil
Bug would murder the man who at*
tempted an entrance without the
secret word. Last night I gave out
the pass word for to-night. * Fire and
brimstone you know? Tart and
expressive, Dora !"

" Fire and brimstone ! " echoed
Dora, rising from her chair " And
this Jones, or Devil-Bug, is a despe
rate sort of man : is he not ? Some
thing of the cut-throat and the bravo?"

"By Jove! I should not like to
empt his cut-throat skill ! But really,
Dora, my friend down stairs is grow
ing impatient. Remember, Dora "
and he made a slight bow " Hawk-
wood, Dora, to-morrow night !"

He closed the door, and the mer
chant s wife was alone.

She stood silent and motionless,
with her arms folded across her breast,
while her dark hair hung clustering
over the fair bosom, now rising in the
light with the impulse of a dark and
terrible thought. Her eyes, dark and
lustrous as they were at other times,
were now almost hidden by her com
pressed brows, while they shot forth
a dead and glassy light, which indi
cated a mind buried in itself, as it
called up its most fearful elements, to
nerve it for the accomplishment of a
desperate and appalling deed.
*" My name whispered through all
the town with epithets of scorn and
contempt ? In the parlor, the saloon,
and the theatre? And then the daily
Journals, who fatten on the garbage
of private discord, will parade in their
loathsome columns the disgrace of
Livingstone, the guilt and degradation
of his wife ! My name will become
another word for pollution and dis

DORA A.VD FITZ-COWLES.

241

honor! Shall this be? Never by
all the energies of a soul, which has
a woman s passion without her fear,
never !

" The deed which I contemplate is
most appalling ! It requires a firm
soul, and a heart which shrinks not
at the sight of blood! It perils a
world to gain a world ! But what of
that ? ** A sure eye and a firm footstep
may guide thejrayeller, unharmed,
along the edge of awful chasms,
which yawn to engulph him, and
echo his tread with the sound of
crumbling rocks ! What cares he for
the death that reaches forth its arms
to grasp him, so that he can escape
by a hair s-breadth from its clutches?

" My soul is resolved ! Before the
dawn of day, Dora, the Cobbler s
grand-daughter ha, ha, ha will fear
no living witness of her guilt i And
to-morrovv, to-morrow Catharine De
Medicis must ha, ha, ha ! must
clothe these young limbs with a
widow s weeds !"

These words uttered, she pushed
aside the crimson hangings, and dis
appeared into the next chamber, with
a single exclamation.

" The disguise " she murmured
" The disguise which Fitz-Cowles
prepared for our flight, is safe in this
chest !"

Meanwhile, passing down the stairs,
Fitz-Cowles was saluted by his com
panion, who stood waiting in the
hall, under the light of the hanging
lamp.

" Cool my blood with a julap !" ex
claimed the indomitable Major Rap-
pahannock Mulhill, as he stood pick-
ng his tefeth with a large bowie knife

" But it s too bad to keep a fellow
waiting in this way ! I say, Colonel,
did you find old Livingstone in ? No ]
Then you won the bet !"

"I told you not to bet, but you
would !" replied Fitz-Cowles, twirling
his cane with a nonchalance air
" You wagered a cool thousand that I
would find Livingstone up stairs !
How deuced foolish in you ! I never
saw such a fellow for betting ; never,
by Jove ! By-the-bye, Major, there s
a fire in the parlor, let s walk in and
settle the bet."

" Oh, we bloods down south are
awful chaps to bet, awe-hi\ !" replied
Rappahannock, as his round face
assumed an expression of deep solem
nity " Why Fitz, my boy, I recol
lect one occasion, when the head of a
large family was buried it was my
father that bets were made with all
the heirs with regard to the length of
the Parson s sermon ! The odds ran
strong on an hour and a half. Bets
were freely offered, ten to one, that the
JParson would not get done in two
hours. I booked them all. The Par
son, strong winded chap as he was,
broke down after the first hour, and
they handed the bets to me over the
old man s grave "

" Let us walk into the front par
lor," exclaimed Fitz-Cowles, opening
the door.

" But the most singular fact of all
was, that we had to use the old man s!
coffin as a writing desk, on which to
settle the amount of the various bets.
The Parson waited till we had finish
ed. One fellow was mean enough to
skulk out of his bet ; I licked him, and
we had a row over the grave "

" Now, Major, your Wt was a

242

MABEL.

thousand, vas it not?" cooly inter
rupted Fitz-Cowles, opening his pocket
bock, as if to receive the money.

" We had a row over the grave.
You d hardly believe it, Colonel, but
fifteen funerals sprung from that very
circumstance. Why the amount of
Bowie knives and pistols which were
used in that fight may be estimated,
when you are informed that a dev lish
enterprising blacksmith in the vicinity
made horseshoes from the fragments
for six months afterwards. The
Mulhill funeral horseshoes were all
the go ! Cool me with a julap,
by "

" Your bet was a thousand dollars"
said Fitz-Cowles, quite pointedly,
as he displayed the pocket book in
his right hand.

"Oh my dear fellow, I sha n t
have a remittance till Monday. Just
make a note of it, will ye. By-the-
bye, Fitz, my boy, I ll take you
another bet that I don t get that re-
mittance till Tuesday."

" All right, Major, all right," ex-
claimed Fitz-Cowles, concealing his
chagrin with the best possible grace.
" Don t think I ll take that other bet.
fBy-the-bye, I am going to Mrs. Tulip
St. Smith s conversazione to nightj
Will you go with me, Major?"

" What is to be did ?" replied the
Major, sticking his hands in his vest
pockets " Cock fightin or a bear
bait, or any thing o that kind ?"

" Nothing so refined. You must
alk of Byron and Shelley and Mrs.
Hummins or Hemans "

" Don t know much about Byron,
Colonel, but as poor Shelly Gad!
Didn t my next neighbor give him
thirty-nine for runnin off with a yel

low gal ? Shelly was the worst buck
nigger on [ones place !"

Fitz-Cowles acquaintance with the
literature or the literary cant of the
day, was exceedingly limited, but the
remark of the round-faced Mulhill was
too strong for even his intellectual
nerves.

" The fellow is a decided jackass !"
he muttered, leading the way from the
parlor " I say Mulhill, did you ever
read a book in your life?" he exclaim
ed, as he lifted the dead-latch of the
front door " Did you ever read so
much as a Magazine ?"

" Didn t I ? Haven t we all them
pictur books down south ? Steel plates
in front, depictin the feelin s of pussies
deprived of their ma s, and nice love
tales full o grand descriptions of the
way young genelmen an ladies dies
for won another, without so much as
leavin a pocket-hank cher to tell their
fate ! Read the Migizines ? Wot po try,
wot sentiment, wot murder, an mad
ness, an mush-and-milk, for a greasy
quarter ! Cool me with a julap, by !"

" Hist ! Look yonder, Major !" ex
claimed Fitz-Cowles, pointing to the
door-steps of Livingstone s mansion,
which they had but a moment left
" Who is that young fellow, standing
in front of Livingstone s door? Who
can it be ? A fashionable hat and a
sweeping mantle ! Egad ! He leaves
the door and hurries down Fourth
street ! Come on, Mulhill let s give
chase !"

" Kick me to death with crickets \
And why should I give chase? Ha,
ha, ha! D ye see that paper, Curnel,
d ye see that document ? Ho, ho, ho
What J ud ye give to read it? Hurray,
hurray !"

DEVIL-BUG IN LOVE.

243

Y.iJ to the utter astonishment of
Fitz-Cowles, the ardent Southerner
witn his red round face, half-hidden
by an immense shirt collar, and his
portly form enveloped in a white
blanket overcoat, commenced perform
ing an irregular dance along the
pavement of South Fourth street, tos
sing his felt hat on high with one hand ?
while the other grasped a slip of dingy
paper, and waved it to and fro, in the
winter air.

" What in the deuce do you mean ?
Folks will think you re crazy. What s
that letter about ?"

" What s it about?" echoed Mulhill,
with a broad grin widening his fea
tures " Nothin pertikler ! list a love
letter from a g-a-l !"

CHAPTER SIXTH.

DEVIL- BUG IN LOVE.

" YOUR name is "

As Devil-Bug leaning over the table,
Sissed these whispered words in the
er of the listener, his face assum
ed an expression of hideous glee,
his lips parting with a sneering gri
mace, while a multitude of minute
wrinkles, diverging from the corner
of his eyelids, spread over his swarthy
skin, in a smile of fiend-like triumph
and scorn.

" My name " echoed the stranger,
drawing the folds of his cloak yet
more closely around his form, while
his hand with an involuntary move
ment swept his dark curls more thick
ly over his white forehead. * My
name is "

"Dora Livingstone!" whispered

Devil-Bug, resting the knuckles of his
iron hands upon the edge of the tal le.
" The wife of the rich Merchant !
Alone and in Monk-Hall !"

The face of the stranger became
suddenly pale as death, and then the
dark eyes, gleaming from beneath the
mass of jet-black curls, shot forth a
glance of fixed resolution.

" Beware how you whisper that
name within these walls !" The voice
was calm and resolute, that spoke
these words. " Woman, as I am, it
were not safe for you to dare my ven
geance ! I came here for revenge !
You are the man to fulfil my settled
purpose I have asked you to commit
a horrible crime but you shall have
gold for your labor. Gold sufficient
to make you a rich man ! This Luke
Harvey must die !"

" It s quite a pleasure to hear her
talk !" cried Devil-Bug, gazing upon
the face of the disguised woman, with
a look of gloating admiration. " To
think that the creetur with them
devil s eyes is a woman, with a soft
buzzim and a plump form ! Ho, ho,
ho ! Luke Harvey shall die, good
lady if you wish it, but the wages aint
to be paid in goold."

" What mean you ?" exclaimed
Dora, with a look of disgust impress
ing the lines of her proud counte
nance, as she marked the expression
of Devil-Bug s loathsome face.

" The goold I want good lady, is a
kiss from a red lip ; a little love you v
know, and a good deal o fondness !
That s my price. I aint to be had on
any other terms. Ho, ho, ho ! The
han some Merchant s wife in love with
old Devil-Bug I venders how thar
J ud vork?"

244

MABEL.

The bosom of the disguised
rose heaving beneath the folds of her
cloak, and her dark eyes flashed with
fierce indignation.

"And dare you presume to hold
such language with me ? Another
word of such insolence from your lips,
and by the Heaven above me, you die !"

She sprang to her feet, and flinging
the cloak from her shoulders, stood
with her proud form elevated to its
full stature, while her fair white hands,
each held a pistol extended at arms
length, in an attitude of determined
menace.

" Look here Musketer, look here
Glow-worm aint that a purty sight ?
You re the rale pluck I tell ye, g-a-1 !
D ye mean them words as a purty
speech or as rale sensible tolk ? D ye
see them niggers ? Suppose ye fire
at yer humble sarvant, d ye think a
g-a-1 with yer soft bosom and smooth
limbs ar a match for sich reglar iron-
boned devils as them darkies ? I have
seen ye afore, gal, and liked ye Come
to my terms, and I ll come to yours !
A kiss for every drop o blood I shed
on your account!"

Dora started at the sight of the two
negroes, nestling in the dark corners
of the Doorkeeper s den.

" Oh madness, madness !" she mut
tered, dropping her face instinctively
on her bosom, while her extended
hands still grasped the pistols in their
fair white fingers. " I have placed my
name and reputation at the mercy of
this fiend in human shape ! There
are witnesses to this dark interview
oh madness, madness !"

Devil-Bug quietly Vnotioned his Ne
groes to leave the den. As they crept
through the door leading into the man

sion, he silently glided around th
table, and stood at the side of the beat,
tiful woman, whose head still resteo
upon her bosom.

" I like yer spirit " he whispered,
fixing his solitary eye upon her red-
dening face with a look of gloating ad
miration " If you want to leave these
doors, old Devil-Bug is not the man
to stop you. But look ye, good lady,
if you but say the word, Luke Harvey
shall not see the sun rise to-morrow !
You go up stairs, and wait till day
break in a private room ; no one shall
dare to molest ye ! When I bring you
that ere ring, which Luke aint to par r
with except with his life, then &ou are
to pay me, the the -goold ? |

Dora said never a word, but letting
the pistols fall from her hands, she
sank in the seat, and hid her face in
her bosom, while the long tresses of
her dark hair, escaping from beneath
the velvet cap, fell showering and lux-
uriant over her neck and shoulders, so
beautifully disguised in man s attire.

" Insulted, scorned, despised." she
murmured, " And by the man I once
so deeply loved ! My name at his mer
cy, my whole fortune hanging on a
chance word from his lips ! Shall 1
pause in my career of revenge 1 This
night and to-morrow safely passed, I
am Countess of Lyndeswold. Yes,
yes, Luke Harvey must die, at an)
arice, at all hazards, must die "

" Lady what s the use of mutterin
an* mumblin to yerself ? Is it a bar
gain ? If it is, jist reach out yer hand,
and let me kiss it "

" Bring me the ring, and you shall
revel in wealth " whispered Dora,
raising her face slowly from her bosom.

" If you d a kept yer face hid a

PARSON PYNE AND HIS DAUGHTER.

24&

tninnit longer, I might ave corne to yer
terms. But with the sight o that face
afore me, Pd sooner you d come to
mine ! I d sooner revel on yer lip,
good lady, than to float in goold up to
my eyes ! Is it a bargain 1 Gi us
yer hand "

Dora slowly rose from her seat.
How beautiful she looked, as standing
erect in her disguise, with her long
dark hair, falling aside from her face,
she folded her arms across her heav
ing bosom, and remained for a single
moment, silent and motionless. The
light fell softly over the outline of her
form, revealing the symmetry of her
limbs, so round in their faultless shape,
the swelling ripeness of her bosom,
heaving beneath the disguise of the
closely-buttoned frockcoat, the slender
waist, and the proportions of her figure,
widening with beauty below the waist,
and gradually narrowing again like
the outline of an invented pyramid, as
they approached the small and deli
cate feet, enclosed in tight-fitting boots,
which reached mid-way to the knee.
She was very beautiful, and her com
pressed lip, and pale forehead, dark
ening with a frown, gave her lovely
countenance, an expression of deep
and painful thought, which disclosed
the mighty struggle at work within
her soul.

" Gi us yer hand i ? said Devil-Bug,
as he glided closer to her side.

" The ring " was all that Dora,
found strength to murmur, as with her
face averted, she slowly extended her
fair white hand toward the deformed
wretch by her side.

" This is the goold for which I bar
gains "exclaimed Devil-Bug as drop
ping on his knees, he app ied his loath

some lips to the skin of that delicate
hand " Before daybreak you shall
have the ring, and I the goold ! Ha,
ha ! Ho, ho ! Venders how thai
ill vork?"

CHAPTER SEVENTH.

PARSON PYNE AND HIS DAUGHTER.

" COMFORTABLE range of apart
ments," muttered the Rev. Dr. Pyne, as
he entered a small chamber on the
second floor. "This is my study. A nice
ittle room, with a coal fire in the grate,
a lamp on the table, a cupboard in the
corner, and a bed in the other. This
s what I call comfortable, " he smiled
pleasantly as standing with his back
to the fire, and his hands under his
coat-tails, he warmed his respectable
person, and surveyed the room, at the
same time. " This is the retreat to
which the Foe of Pagan Rome retires,
when the labors of the pulpit are over.
Ha, ha ! I am blessed with an affec
tionate and loving congregation. Dear
people, they love me ! I preached with
unction to night, powerful, very pow~
erful unction, and talking of unction,
I believe Pll try a little brandy."

With that pleasant smile beaming
from his red round face, that smile
which won him bank-note opinions
from the wealthy old women of his
flock, and endeared him to the hearts
of all the Patent-Gospellers, the good
Doctor advanced to the cupboard, and
taking a corpulent decanter from its
recesses, poured himself a very toler
able glass of blushing Cogn ac. Sur
veying the creature for a moment.

846

MABEL.

with his one eye closed, and his ful
red lips dropped apart, the Reverenc
gentleman after this silent pause of
thought, raised the glass to his lips
with the emphatic sentiment ; Down
with the Pope of Pagan Rome ; up
with the Pa tent- Gospellers !

" Good brandy, that," he murmur
ed replacing the empty glass in the
cupboard. " Old Swipes, one of our
Elders who keeps a wine store, sent
me that brandy in mistake for wine.
It was intended for the use of our
church on particular occasions ; I use
k instead of the church which does
just as well."

The Reverend gentleman then seat
ed his portly person, in the large arm
chair beside the fire, and taking a cor
pulent pocket-book from a side pocket,
he displayed its contents, on his out
spread knees.

" Funds are easy with us to-day,"
said the good man smiling as he spoke,
" My wants were quite numerous this
morning ; to night they are amply
supplied. That ten dollar note came
from a good old lady, on account of a
poor man, who was run over by the
cars. A widow with five small child
ren and one at the breast, will doubt
less be relieved when she beholds the
twenty, which was presented to me
for her, by an aged brother of our
flock. That gold-piece is for the poor
man, who fell from a five-story house,
with a hod on his shoulder. This five
dollar note, came with a letter, which
defied the Pope of Rome in very strong
language. Down with the Pope of
Pagan Rome, yours ShadroeS Shad-
roe is a very zealous brother ; quite
fiery. And here is a fifty, which
was vendered me for the use of an in

digent young brother, about to com.
mence the Gospel Ministry. There s
somewhere near a hundred dollars in
all, collected by me since breakfast
this morning. A good day s work."
The Rev. F. A. T. Pyne chuckled
pleasantly to himself, and winked ra
ther viciously at the small Bible on the
mantle-piece. It was a very pleasant
thing to behold the*fruits of his day s
abor resting on his kn^e, in the shape
of solid gold and bank notes ; and our
admiration of the sight is increased to
a positive reverence for Dr. Pyne,
when we remember that the poor man
who was run over by the cars, the
widow with five children and one at
he breast, the man who fell from a
ive-story house with a hod on his
shoulder, and the indigent young bro-
her about to commence the Gospel
Ministry, were all lively fictions, in
vented by the Foe of Pagan Rome, for 4
he especial benefit of his two rooms
and other conveniences at Monk-Hall.
3ut this you will understand is a pos-
tive secret, and having been entrusted
o us in strict confidence, must on no
account go any farther.

" A little opium wont hurt me, I
pine," said the good Brother taking
small paper from his pocket, which
&gt;eing opened, disclosed a number of
smaller papers, all carefully folded in-
square form, with an Apothecary s
abel, on the outside of each. " We
emperance folks must have some little
excitement after we have forsworn in-
mperance. When we leave off Al
cohol, we indulge our systems with a
ittle Opium. That s what I call a
apita 1 compromise."

The Brother now arose from hi
seat, and quietly opened a small door r

PARSON PYNE AND HIS DAUGHTER.

24?

/eadirig into the adjoining chamber.
A cheerful smile overspread his round
face, and his watery eyes twinkled
with glee. There was something very
meaning in the energy with which he
smacked his large red lips together.

" She sleeps !" he muttered, and
then with a quiet manner and cauti
ous footstep stole into the chamber,
closing the door carefully behind him.

It was a wide and spacious cham
ber, with lofty ceiling and wainscotted
walls. A small lamp burning on the
table near the fireplace, gave a clear
cold light to the hearth-side, while the
other parts of the room were wrapt in
shadow. Like most of the chambers
of Monk-Hall, this room wore an an
cient and desolate appearance. The
heavy oaken wainscot of the walls, the
chairs of massive mahogany, with
high-backs and carved limbs, the small
couch standing in one corner, with its
snow-white counterpane and spot
less pillow contrasting with the heavy
carvings of the bed-posts of dark wal
nut, the faded carpet on the floor,
and the elaborate wood-work above
the mantel, with the coal fire smoul
dering in the grate below, such were
the characteristics of the ancient cham
ber, which was rendered dark and
gloomy by the absence of windows
from the lofty walls. A small aper
ture near the ceiling not more than
two feet long and one foot high, could
scarcely be called a window ; although
it was intended to give a faint glimpse
of light during the daytime.

Near the fire, a fair giri, dressed in
spotless white, was sleeping as she
reclined in a massive arm-chair, whose
high-back thickly cushioned with dark
velvet, aiforded a ge.itle repose to her

maidenly form. The light fell mildly
over her countenance, disclosing its
pale hues and regular features, strik
ingly relieved by the long black hair
which half unbound fell waving over
her cheek, down to her shoulders.
Her hands small and delicate, and
death-like as the whitest marble, were
clasped in front of her person, and the
light folds of the robe, which envel
oped her form like a death-shroud,
were softly agitated by the faint motion
of her bosom, heaving gently upward
as she slept.

So like a pure and holy dream
was the beauty of the fair girl, as she
lay sleeping quietly in the den of
Monk-Hall, that Altamont Pyne, start-
d with involuntary awe, as he gazed
upon his daughter s face. Her beau
ty was of that peculiar cast which
mingles high intellect and purity of
soul with all the enticing loveliness of
a fair young form, soft limbs, a deli-
ate bosom, throbbing with the impulses
of youthful blood and a lustrous black
eye beaming with the undeveloped love
of a stainless soul. Her form some
what below the middle heighth, was
marked by peculiar and characteristic
beauties. A neck fair and round ;
wide shoulders, the skin as white as
alabaster, and veined with delicate
streaks of azure ; a slender waist wi
dening into the lower proportions of
the figure, which were marked by the
swelling outlines of womanly beauty,
and a small foot, thrust from jnder-
neath the folds of her dress.

Her face was fair, in its hues, round
in its contour, swelling in its outlines,
the features regular, the brow calm
and eloquent, the lips red and ripe f

M8 MABEL,

marked by a bewitching loveliness of

bosom, his hot breath on my cheek 4

shape, and the chin, firm and resolute

Help, oh God, help ! Father, hav

in its expression, was varied by a

mercy, oh have mercy ! Your voice

laughing dimple. And yet with all

it was that taught me God s own holy

this beauty, the countenance was

truths, and now that same voice whis

white as marble, never animate with

pers pollution in my ear. Your hands

the flushed hues of maidenhood, save

first raised mine to God as we prayed

when strong emotion, called the warm

together, a.nd now father those hands

blood to the swelling cheek. As she

oh God ! Oh God !"

lay reclining in the arm-chair she

" Awake my child," whispered Al-

looked for all the world, like a marble

tamont Pyne as his red round face

statue of an intellectual and voluptu

grew suddenly pale.

ous maiden, with all the outline and

" It is night, it is night !" muttered

shape, which gives fascination to the

the sleeping girl, * Back, father, I say

face and form of beauty, without the

back ! God s vengeance will strike ye

warm hues, which tint the lips with

dead, if ye but attempt this horrible

love, and fire the cheek with passion.

crime ! Back I say, or with this lamp

" Mable is quite beautiful !" mut

I will fire the window curtains, and in

tered the oily-faced Parson gazing

an instant this house, which you have

upon the girl with his watery eyes dis

forever polluted by this attempt at

tended by an expression of animal

crime, never to be named in human

admiration. " It s most a pity to

ears, this house will arise to heaven

awake her 1 However Brother Devil-

in flames ! Each spark of flame, a

Bug will be here directly, with the po

witness before God, of the horrible

tion. Mabel," his voice assumed its

crime ! Back I say I will to the

blandest whisper as he applied his

door back, or I fire the house ! Ha,

mouth to the sleeper s ear. " Mabel,

ha ! I gain the door, the entry is past

look up, my child !"

and the stairs ! Ha, ha ! I am in

The maiden moved in her sleep, but

the street, the night is cold and the

d d not unclose her eyes. Gathering

flinty stones rend my feet, but I am

her hand convulsively over her bosom,

saved, I am saved !"

as the soft accents of the Reverend

" Mabel, awake I say !" exclaimed

Pyne broke on her ear, she murmured

Brother Pyne, with an angry frown.

wildly in her sleep, as though some

" You should not encourage these

terrible vision had dawned upon her

night-mare dreams. Ugh ! The girl

soul.

makes me shiver, and yet her lip is

" It is night again," she muttered

ripe as a May cherry ! Where is

in a voice scarcely audible. " I am

Devil-Bug with his potion ?"

alone. The door is locked and oh,

" Oh let me in for the sake of God !"

save me good Heaven ! His footstep is

the accents of the sleeper broke on the

on the stairs ! He comes, and I, stand

air in tones of agony. " The night ia

trembling at the approach of my fa

dark and I am cold ! My feet are

ther ! My father, ha, ha, ha ! It is

pierced by the flinty stones, and the

might again and his hand is upon my

winter hail and snow beats against my

PARSON PYNE AND HIS DAUGHTER.

249

bosom ! Open your door, oh stranger, j
lor he pursues me ! He, my father, |
and I fear him worse than the grave!"

" Mabel girl, I say will you hush
this nonsense !" exclaimed Parson
Pyne, in an angry tone, as he shook
the maiden roughly by the shoulder.

The girl slowly unclosed her eyes
and gazed in his face with a bewilder
ed stare.

" Oh do not hurt me, father," she
exclaimed clasping her hands beseech
ingly in his face.

"Hurt ye, girl? Who talks of
hurtin ye ?" exclaimed Pyne, betray
ed by his excited feelings^into an
harshness of dialect which spoke of
the habits of his former life, when he
was not precisely a saint. " What
d ye set there dreamin about such
stuff and nonsense 1 Haven t I pro
vided you a home, where you might
recover from the unfortunate state of
mind which has possessed you of late?
Dismiss that unhappy dream, my
child, dismiss that unhappy dream,
now and forever !"

Brother Pyne drew a chair, and sat
down by his daughter s side.

" And then, father, you think it was
a dream ?" she exclaimed, with an ex
pression of rapture warming over her
face.

" To be sure I do, Mabel, to be sure
I do !" said Brother Pyne, quickly.
" Put your arms round my neck and
kiss me, that s a good daughter."

Mabd reached forth her arms and
entwined them round her father s neck.
She kissed him on the cheek with her
lips, now reddened with excitement,
but a cold shudder ran over her form,
in the very act. She shrank back in
to her chair as ihougL she had been

stung by a serpent. At this moment
she looked very beautiful. Her swell
ing cheeks were flushed with sudden
life, her large dark eyes beamed with
soul, and her lips so bewitching in
their shape, grew moist and red as
rose-buds heavy with morning dew.
Her brow white as alabaster and calm
as death, was eloquent with the silent
intensity of thought, which absorbed
her soul. And aside from that fair
brow swept her raven hair, falling in
long and glossy tresses to her rounded
shoulders, and imparting a solemn
beauty to the loveliness of her counte
nance.

" Oh father," she murmured, " the
night, the night when I fled from your
roof. Was it all a dream ?"

" To be sure it was, my dear," re
plied Dr. Pyne, taking his daughter s
hand within his own.

" Did you not seek my chamber,
did you not oh horror, horror ! My
tongue cleaves to the roof of my
mouth, when I endeavor to picture
forth that scene in words !"

" Tush, tush, this is all nonsense !"
and as he spoke the Doctor gently
wound his arms around her waist.
" Have I not always been a kind fa
ther to you ? Have I not rented this
house for your especial comfort ? You
see, my child, your solitary way of
life has slightly, very slightly, affect
ed your mind. A few weeks of quiet,
with the change of scene afforded by
this old mansion, the perusal of whole
some books, together with the cheerful
conversation of yoir father, will bring
you right again. Have your attend
ants brought you any refreshments,
my child."

" Yes, fatter. An hour ago, jusl

850

MABEL.

as I had lain down upon the bed to
rest myself for a few moments, a ser
vant entered the chamber, and set food
upon the table before the fire. He did
not observe me, father, but I saw him
and was chilled with horror at the
sight of his hideous countenance. Why
do you employ such a hideous mons
ter, father?"

"What, Brother Abijah? Oh he
ts a fine fellow, a Christian, my daugh
ter, although his face is not precisely
nandsome. What are you thinking
of now, Mabel ?"

And Brother Pyne patted the palm
of her fair white hand, while his arm
gathered more lovingly around her
waist.

"Of my mother! She has been
dead long, very long, has she not, fa
ther? Many and many an hour, in
the daytime, when abroad in the
street, and at night when resting in
bed, have I endeavoured to recall the
memory of her face, or a tone of her
voice, or a smile wreathing her lips,
but in vain ! All is dark with me,
when I think of my mother."

" The fact is she died when you
was a mere baby, Mabel. Think, my
child, what a care you have been to
your father, how he has reared you
up in the Lord ; how, from time to
time, he has filled your young mind
with the teachings of divine truth.
Think of this, my child, and then
think of your conduct in leaving that
paternal roof which had sheltered you
from childhood! Forgive this tear,
Mabel, I can t help it."

The Rev. Brother Pyne was deeply
affected. If ever his oily face glowed
with an expression of sincere feeling
it was at that moment. Mabel gazed

upon him for a moment, and thru
flung her arms around his neck.

"Forgive me, my father, forgive
me!"

" Father /" echoed a hoarse voice,
and Devil-Bug, holding a waiter in his
extended hands, glided from the doov-
way and advanced toward the light
" I say, Brother Pyne, here s the hoi
coffee which you called for, and ho*
cakes in the bargain."

As he spoke he advanced toward
the table, and arranged the contents
of the waiter upon the white cloth
which he spread over its surface.

" Ho, ho, ho ! So the gal puts her
arms around his neck, does she?
There won t be much need of the drug
in that case !" he muttered to himself,
as he arranged the supper equipage
upon the table. " Father indeed !
Could I ave heered my own ears ?"

The girl raised her head from her
father s shoulder. At the same mo
ment Devil-Bug, turning on his heel
to leave the room, caught a glimpse
of her face for the first time. He
started backward as though he had
received a death-wound in his very
heart. The waiter fell clattering on
the floor, and with another start back
ward, Devil-Bug raised his hands and
gazed upon the face of the young girl.
Never in his life had Devil-Bug been
seized with an agitation terrible as this.
His face grew white as a sheet, and
his solitary eye glanced forth from its
socket with one wild and absorbing
gaze. Once or twice he essayed to
speak, but the incoherent words died
on his tongue.

"I say, brother, what s the mat
ter ?" cried Parson Pyne, gazing
upon the Doorkeeper with unfeigned

PARSON PYNE AND HIS DAUGHTER.

251

astonishment. " Going to have a fit,
brother?"

Devil-Bug slowly advanced to the
Parson s side. He reached forth his
arm and laid his hand lightly on the
girl s shoulder. He spoke in a voice
utterly changed from his usual harsh
and discordant tones.

J$llen!" he said, in a low and
softened voice, whose gentleness of
tone presented a strange contrast to
the harsh deformity of his visage.
" Ellen is this you, or is it your
ghost?"

Mabel gazed upon his face in silent
wonder, and Parson Pyne rose angrily
from his seat.

" What means this insolence?" he
shouted, in a tone of blustering
anger.

" Oh, nothing," replied Devil-Bug,
with his usual grunting tone of voice.
" Only that gal looks somethin like a
gal I used to know ; that s all."

And he atrocb hastily toward the
door.

" Devil-Bug," cried Fat Pyne, in a
whisper, as he hurried after the re
treating Doorkeeper. " Is the coffee
drugged ?"

" Yes it is, Parson," growled Devil-
Bug, with his hand on the door.

Soh, soh ! All s right then. Devil-
Bug you will lock all the doors after
you, if you please," he added, in a
whisper. " You understand ? I don t
want to be interrupted and mark ye,
if you should hear a shriek or a groan,
you needn t mind it."

" Oh, I needn t, need t I ?" echoed
Devil-Bug, while an expression, which
Pyne had never witnessed before, stole
over his deformed visage. " Parson
you ve got the gal all in your own

power, the coffee s drugged and the
doors shall be locked, and we wont
mind no shrieks nor groans nor other
capers. But you must answer me
won quest in. That gal called you
father?"

" Did she tho ?" replied Dr. Pyne,
blandly. " I really didn t mind it."

" You aint her father, then ?" asked
Devil-Bug, with that peculiar expres
sion deepening over his visage.

" Of course not. Except in a spirit
ual sense ha, ha, ha ! A spiritual
sense, you know !"

" Ha, ha, ha !" echoed Devil-Bug,
with a wild and hollow laugh.

" Ho, ho, ho !" chuckled Parson
Pyne, in a quiet way, peculiar to him
self. " You won t mind a shriek 01 4
groan if you should chance to hear
one ?"

"Devil a mind!" replied Devil-
Bug, as he stepped through the door
way. " You re a jolly cove, you are!"

And Parson Pyne caught the strange
gleam of Devil-Bug s solitary eye, and
laughed merrily as he closed the door,
while Devil-Bug echoed his laugh with
a hollow sound, more like the groan
of a dying man who struggles with
death and madness at the same time,
than the echo of a cheerful laugh.

" He s alone with the gal !" he mut
tered, as he stood in the small cham
ber where the Parson had consoled
himself with a glass of brandy. " And
she called him father /"

That peculiar expression which had
been gathering over his face, while
conversing with the Parson, now
manifested itself in a look of fiend-like
hatred, which convulsed every line of
the Doorkeeper s countenance. Sweep
ing his thick hair aside, he bared hi*

252

MABEL.

protuberant brow to the light. The
swarthy skin was corrugated with
thick wrinkles, which stood out from
his deformed forehead like knotted
cords. The shrunken eye-socket
seemed to sink yet farther beneath his
overhanging brow, while his solitary
eye, gathering a strange light, enlarg
ed and dilated until its gleam grew
like the glare of burning coals. His
pointed teeth were firmly clenched to
gether, and his lips were agitated by
a hideous grimace, which gave a gro
tesque effect to the terrible frown of
his brow and the fiend-like glare of
his eye. He shook his large hands
wildly on high, and clenched madly
at the air with his talon fingers.

" Ho, ho, ho !" he cried, as the idea,
which absorbed his soul, rose before
him like an embodied thing of flesh
and blood. " Ho, ho, ho ! I vonders
how that ill vork !"

CHAPTER EIGHTH.

THE PIT OP MONK-HALL.

" LOOK here Glow-worm, look here
Musketer !" he shouted to his negroes,
who sat dozing before the fire. "D ye
see that poker and that old tongs?
Stick em in the coal fire, and heat
em to a white heat ! The poker has
a sharp pint it ill do, it ill do !"

" Yes, massa," growled Musquito,
as his lips which the reader will re
member were shapen like two sides of
a triangle distended in a hideous
grin. Yes, massa, I doves put de
pokar in de fi-ah !"

" An I de tong ! exclaimed Glow

worm, Us huge mouth grinning ike
a death s-head, as he inserted the old
tongs between the bars of the grate.

" Ye r a pair of beauties !" exclaim
ed Devil-Bug, gazing upon his satel
lites with paternal fondness. " Htll
can t produce ye r match."

Certainly they were a pair of beau
ties. As squatting in low stools on
either side of the fire, they looked up
in their master s face, their hideous
visages assumed an expression of in
fernal glee, x Give us a picture of the
scene, Darley. Sharpen your pencil,
and select your best piece of Bristol
board. This is a study worthy of
your genius. We are looking at the
scene from the dark corner of the
room. The light flares from yonder
table, in the background, Devil-Bug
stands in front of the fire ; his negroes
squat on either side. Musquito with
his back toward us, extends his left
hand and holds the iron between the
bars of" the grate, and looks up in his
master s face, presenting to our view
the profile of his hideous visage, the
receding forehead, the flat nose, the
opened mouth with the lips, meeting
in a point near the nose and diverging
toward the sharp and prominent chin.
Opposite him, Glow-worm, with the
light from the table falling on his
broad shoulders and the beams of the
fire illumining his face, rolls his large
eyes towards his master, while his
rude mouth, with the teeth projecting
like fangs, is distorted with a loath
some grimace, and his muscular right
hand also holds the iron between the
bars of the grate. And the master,
Darley, paint him for us ; picture old
Devil-Bug. He stands between the
twain, his massive face receiving on

THE PIT OF MONK-HALL.

253

one cheek the gleam of the lamp ; or
its whole extent the glare of the fire.
Picture his broad brow, hanging over
his wide face, like the edge of a beet
ling cliff over a receding precipice.
The eyeless socket, the glaring eye,
the heavy eyebrows, the flat nose with
wide nostrils, the mouth convulsed by
a grotesque grimace that discloses the
clenched teeth, the pointed chin, brist
ling with a stiff beard, the matted hair
hanging aside from the face and brow
in uneven locks; picture it all, Darley.
If your wonderful pencil, which tra
verses the sheet of drawing paper with
such gracefulness and such vigor
linked together by taste, if this pencil,
Darley, can depict a nightmare stand
ing erect, with a hideous Dream squat
ting on either side, then you will have
delineated Devil-Bug and his attendant
negroes as they were grouped in that
cozy little chamber of Monk-Hall.

" Musketer when you ve heated that
ere iron hot enough, jist go down
stairs and git a few strands o thick
rope. We shall want it in this room
arter awhile. And look ye, Glow
worm, keep your ears picked, will
ye? If you don t I ll pick em with a
hot fork. If you hear a cry, or a
groan, or even a moan from that gal
in the next room, jist run up stairs and
call me! I ll be in the Walnut-Room;
d ye mind, ye black devil?"

Seizing the lamp in his right hand,
Devil-Bug hurried from Monk Balt-
zar s ante-chamber^ as it was styled,
and in a moment found himself hasten
ing along the dark corridor which
traversed the second floor of the man
sion.

" I like this old place !" he mutter

ed, as he ascended the staircase of the
mansion. "Here was I born, and
here I ve lived all my life ! I never
had a friend in all my born days, but
these old walls have been my friends
I ve talked to the brick pillars in the
dead-vault ; I ve had many a joke
with the skeleton in the Banquet-
Room ; and ho, ho, ho the trap
doors all know me, and creak for joy
when they hear me comin !*~Hur-ray
for Monk-Hall, say I ! Its the body,
I m its soul ! It s full o nooks and
corners and dark places ; so is my :
natur ! I like the old place ; there
aint a brick in it that I don t love like
a brother ! Ha, ha, ha ! When I
die I should feel obliged to the rowdy
jas ud set it afire ! It must go with
me ! When I m gone it ill be like a
coffin without a corpse. What s the
use o th shell when the torkle s
dead ?"

Devil-Bug stood on the main cor
ridor of the third floor, which with
another corridor, meeting at right
angles, separated Lorrimer s rooms
from the other part of the mansion.
Thus you might enter the Walnut
Room, through a door which opened
into the corridor, near the head of the
stairs; or passing along the corridor,
you might pursue the gallery which
ran east and west until you reached
the door of Lorrimer s Drawing-Room.
Passing through the drawing room,
you traversed the Painted Chamber,
the Rose Chamber, and then entered
the Walnut Room. Next to the Wal
nut Room, was the Tower Room,
which terminated the range of Lorri
mer s apartments.

"B lieve I ll go into the Walnu
Room by this door. That felloe

264

MABEL.

Byrnewuod has cost me trouble enough.
I ll put an end to his story, with some
thing sharper than a trap-door or a
bottle o drugs ! Venders how that
1 11 vork ?"

He entered the Walnut Room. The
glittering floor gave back the reflection
of the light which he held in his hands.
The place was silent and desolate,
with nothing but the bare walls, the
jark ceiling and the glittering floor of
polished mahogany. In the centre of
the room, lay a shapeless mass which
moved slowly to and fro, while Devil-
Bug advanced, and as the light flashed
over its outlines, resolved itself into
the form of a human being.

" Ha, ha, ha ! Not more than
twelre hours ago, this lump o flesh an
blood an broadcloth was a fine young
gentleman who cut all sorts o capers
in the next room. Cussed like a troop
er and swore like a preacher ! A
little bit o opium mixed in his drink,
and here he lays, a perfect bundle o
sleep and stoopidliy ! A werry con
temptible thing is human natur !"

He flung the blaze of the light full
over the face of the unconscious
wretch, who lay prostrate on the floor,
his knees huddled up against his chest,
and his outstretched hands clutching
the polished floor, with an involuntary
and ineffectual grasp. Long locks of
curling black hair fell streaming aside
from a young face, which seemed to
have grown prematurely old in the
compass of a few hours. The skin
was yellow and discolored, the lips
wore a livid hue, and the dark eyes,
glared upon the ceiling with a cold and
glassy stare. A. thin, clammy foam
hung around the white lips, and there
were spots of blood upon the cheeks and

hands of the unconscious man. He hail
torn the flesh from his cheeks in very
madness. As Devil-Bug gazed upon
him, his limbs moved with a faint mo
tion, like the last sign of Jeparting life,
and his outstretched hands grasped feeb
ly at the smooth boards of the floor.
The light flashed over his fixed eyeballs,
but they gave no sign of life, no quick
flashing glance that might betoken
consciousness.

" Ha, ha, ha ! I ll try it, !" scream-
ed Devil-Bug with a wild shriek of
laughter. " I ve heard many stories
about that same thing, but I never saw
it done ! I m jist the man to do it, and
jist in the hurnor to do it now !"

He knelt beside the unconscious
man, and allowing the light to play
over his fixed eyeballs, he applied his
mouth to his ear :

" Hel-lo ! Yous sir, I say look here.
I am a-goin to bury you alive ! D y&lt;5
hear that? I m a-goin to bury you
alive ! God how the feller wriggles J
D ye feel the cold clods fallin on your
breast a ready ? Ho, ho, ho ! I m
a-goin to bury you alive !"

A slight tremor, a quivering shud
der passed over the frame of Byrne-
wood Arlington. Was he conscious
of the meaning of the words whispered
in his ear ? God alone knows, but
his limbs were agitated for a moment
by a convulsive motion, and the mus
cles of his face worked as with a spasm.

"I ll jist go an tell Glow-worm to
watch for me in the first cellar, while
I go down, down, into the lowest hole
of Monk-Hall ! When the gal shrieks,
then Musketer must whistle, and then
low-worm will strike the old gong,
and I will hear it, although I m so far
below the ground. So far below the

THE PIT JF MONK-HALL

ground beside that man s grave in the
Pit of Monk-Hall ! Excuse me Sir if
1 keep you waitin " he continued
making a formal bow, with his face
toward the unconscious form of Byrne-
wood. " Excuse rne Sir if I ll keep
rou waitin but I ll be back d rectly."

P.acing the lamp on the glittering
floor, he departed from the Walnut
Room. Scarce had the sound of his
footsteps ceased to echo on the air,
when the curtains leading into the
Rose Chamber were suddenly thrust
aside, and the form of a woman with
her long brown hair falling wildly
on her neck, came hastening over the
floor of the apartment, her hands clasp
ed and her white dress floating loosely
around her maidenly figure.

Advancing along the room, she start
ed backward as she beheld th shape
less form, flung prostrate at her feet,
and the light flashed over her face
while she stood entranced by the hor
ror of the spectacle.

"My brother, my brother!" she
muttered in a low-toned voice, and
then sank kneeling on the floor.

Her long brown hair fell wildly over
her shoulders, and her face white as
the grave-cloth was tinted in each
cheek with a spot of burning red.
Her eyes of clear and lustrous blue,
were marked by a fixed and glassy
stare, as she gazed upon the uncon
scious form of By rne wood Arlington.
The quivering lips reddened to a deep
purple hue, the brow animated by an
expression as wild as it was startling,
the hand clasped tremblingly over the
bosom, faintly heaving beneath the
folds of the white robe, all betrayed
the deep emotion, like to madness in

its indications, which convulsed the
soul of the ruined girl.

" Oh brother," she cried taking his
hand within her arm. " You are dy
ing and dying for me ! Speak to me,
Byrnewood, speak to me. Call your
sister by the name you used to love so
well ! Oh, God !" she cried with a
wild shriek as she swept the thick
locks of his dark hair aside from his
pale brow. " He knows me not, he
knows me not !"

The eyes of the brother still glared
upon the ceiling, with that same fixed
and glassy stare. He betrayed no sign
of consciousness or emotion. A corse,
with all the outward marks of death,
and yet with the soul burning brightly
within, could not have presented a
more ghastly spectacle.

Mary took his cold hands within
her own, she kissed his wan and dis
colored cheeks, she besought him in
low tones to rise from the sleep of
death, or to give but a look or a sign
of recognition. Still he lay uncon-
scious and motionless.

As she thus bent kneeling over the
unconscious form of her brother, the
figure of a woman glided from the en
trance of the Rose Chamber, and stood
by her side. It was the form of Long
haired Bess. She gazed upon the ruin,
accomplished by Lorrimer with her
aid, and a shudder ran over her form,
as she gazed.

" Oh Bessie, they have murdered
him !" shrieked Mary gazing upward
in the face of the woman, while her
blue eyes, sent forth a wild and bewil
dered gaze. " Look he is dying, he
is dying and for my sake !"

Hist ! Mary," cried Bess veiling her

256

MABEL.

eyes with her upraised hand. " Do
you not hear their footsteps on the
stairs ? His torturers return, and we
shall be discovered- "

" Oh Bessie lead me to Lorraine,
for God s sake lead me ! He would
not suffer this wrong. There is some
dark mystery I know, overshadowing,
my very soul, but Lorraine is inno
cent ! You are silent Bessie ? You
do not answer "

" Mary 1 will lead you from the
* house " said Bessie in a hasty voice
as she turned her face from the light.
" I will save your brother."

She hurried the ruined girl from her
brother s side, as she spoke.

"He loved me Bessie, he would not
harm my brother ! I would as soon
suspect you of a wrong as Lorraine !
There is some terrible mistake Bessie,
but Lorraine is innocent "

" Great God ! It makes my heart
bleed to hear her talk thus !" muttered
Bess leading the way into the Rose
Chamber. u Every word she utters
is a dagger in my heart ! Ha, ha !
She believes me innocent !"

" Let me look upon him once
again !" shrieked Mary darting aside
from Bess, and flinging herself upon
her brother s unconscious form.
" Byrnewood, oh speak to me, oh call
your Mary by her name! Only
a word, my brother, or a look or a
glance ? He does not speak, he makes
no sign not even a glance for Mary !
* And I am the cause of all this ruin
ha, ha, ha I I see my father and my
mother there, there they stand gazing
upon the corse of their son ! And
they raise their hands, they curse me,
with his death ! Do you not see them
Bessie oh it freezes my blood, to look

upon my father s grey hair, which he
scatters to the winds as he asks Hea
ven to curse me !"

She rose to her feet, and with her
blue eyes glaring at the vacant air,
with her beautiful countenance, for it
was beautiful even amid woe, and hor-
ror worse than death, with her fair
young face, paled to the hue of ashes,
she extended her arms as if to wave
back the spectres who stood beside her
brother s unconscious form.

"Ha! Devil-Bug returns!" ex-
claimed Bess silently gliding behind
Mary, and gathering her form in her
arms. " I ll foil him yet ! Byrnewood
shall yet be saved !"

Raising Mary in her arms, she bore
her silently from the Walnut Room.

A moment passed and Devil-Bug
stood beside his victim again.

" Come my feller " he cried rais
ing the unconscious form of Byrne-
wood upon his shoulders. " You an
me has got a little business to transact,
which ought to be done in private."

Unheeding the muttered groan which
escaped from Byrne wood s lips, he
raised him on his shoulder, as though
e had been a mere bundle of mer-
handize. In a moment he left the
Walnut Room, and was descending the
stairs, with the unconscious man on
his shoulders, while his extended hand
grasped the flickering lamp. With a
quiet smile on his lip Devil-Bug de
scended the stairs, and in a few mo
ments stood on the floor of the hall,
opening into the Banquet Room. The
echo of shouts mingled with laughter
rung around the place. Devil -Bug
rimly smiled, and passing the door
way of the Banquet Room, stole cau
tiously along the damp floor of the; hall,

THE PIT OF MONK-HALL.

257

and in a moment the glare of the lamp
flashed over the grand stairway of
stone, leading far down into the vaults
of Monk-Hall.

And far, far down over massive steps
of granite, with solid arches above and
thick walls on either side, far, far down,
with the rays of the lamp flashing over
the void beneath, with a faint yet gloomy
effect, like a light darting its beams
along the darkness of some hideous
well, Devil-Bug pursued his way, his
strong right arm supporting the un
conscious form of his victim flung like
a bundle over his shoulder, while his
distorted face grew animate with
that grimace of habitual cruelty,
which gave his visage the expression
of an incarnate fiend, and developed
all the hideous moral deformity of his
nature.

Down, down over damp steps of
granite, down, down ! The monoti-
nous echo of his footsteps disturbs the
silence of the air, and now and then,
his victim with his face hanging over
the shoulders of the Doorkeeper, utters
a faint moan, as he feebly clutches at
the door with his hands. The stair
way terminates on a wide hall with
roof and floor of stone. On one side
the massive door leading into the
Dead-vault of Monk-Hall, on the other
side another door, as high and as mas
sive, leading into the Wine-cellar of
the old mansion. At Devil-Bug s back
ascends the stairway of granite ; he
advances along the stone floor and at
his very feet descends another stair
way, more dark and gloomy than the
first, with clammy moisture trickling
down the walls, while the light flares
fitfully over a long succession of stone
blocks, sinking far, far down into the

bosom of earth and night. This stair
way leads to the Pit of Monk-Hall.

Ha! Old Devil-Bug starts and
clenches his hand, and at the very
thought of that fearful cavern, sunk
far beneath the earth, below the
foundations of Monk-Hall.

Has the name of the place a terri
ble memory for your soul, Devil-Bug?
Does no phantom arise before you as
as standing on the verge of the stair
way, you gaze into the void below,
does no phantom with blood-dripping
hair and ghastly eyes, arise before
you, and scare you back ? The phan
tom of a murdered man with a man
gled jaw sunken on the breast, a
tongue lolling from his mouth, and
blood-shot eyes starting from a face
darkened to purple by the hand of
death.

Ho, ho ! What cares Devil-Bug
for phantoms in his path, or white-
shrouded ghosts gliding by his side !
TDerided and scorned by that fellow
man, whom he never yet called, bro
ther, the offcast of the world from his
very birth, a walking curse and a
breathing execration upon all mankind,
why should old Devil-Bug fear that
Phantom World, which dawns upon his
solitary eye 1

*Ea\ Ha, ha! Old Devil -Bug loves
the old arches of Monk-Hall, he loves
the cellars and the dens, he loves the
song of the revellers in the Banquet
Room, and the glee of the cut-throats
in the vaults below, he loves the Ske
leton-Monk like a twin-brother, but the
Phantoms, ha, ha, they are at once
his fear and his delight ! The mur
dered man gliding forever by his side
with the broken jaw and the starting
eyes he hails him as a thing of ioy !

258

MABEL.

And the murdered woman with the
quivering form and hollow skull,
oozing with the slowly-pattering blood
ha, ha, this phantom is one of
Devil-Bug s familiar spirits.

But the Pit, the Pit of Monk-Hall,
ha, ha ! He shudders at the name, he
starts and grows pale. The Phantom
of the murdered man he can endure
as he has endured for years ! But to
go down step by step into the lowest
deep of the pest-house, to stand in the
nethermost cavern of Monk-Hall, for
the first time for many long years,
to start with fear at the palpable pre
sence of the bare skull and moulder
ing bones of the murdered man ! Ho,
ho ! This were a hard trial, even for
Devil-Bug s strong nerves and strong
heart !

But down, down into the pit he will
go ; down, down, with the form of his
intended victim on his shoulder and
the lamp held firmly in his talon
fingers ; down, down, until the air
grows thick with the breath of corrup
tion, and the light flashes in its socket
as it dies away under the pressure of
an atmosphere, never yet enlivened
by a single ray of God s sunlight, but
rendered fatal and deathly by the de
cay of the human corse, as it crum
bles to dust, with the worms revelling
over its rottenness, and the thick night
shrouding it like a pall.

* Shallow pated critic with your
smooth face whose syllabub insipidity
is well-relieved by wiry curls of flaxen
hair, soft maker of verses so utterly
blank, that a single original idea never
mars their consistent nothingness,
penner of paragraphs so daintily per-
Simed with quaint phrases and stilted

nonsense, we do not want you here!
Pass on sweet maiden-man! Yoat
perfumes agree but sorrily with the
thick atmosphere of this darkening
vault, your white-kid gloves would be
soiled by a contact with the rough
hands of Devil-Bug, your innocent
and girlish soul would be shocked by
the very idea of such a hideous cavern,
hidden far below the red brick surface
of broad-brimmed Quakertown. Pass
by delightful trifler, with your civ^t-
bag and your curlinj^tongs, write sy)
labub forever, and pen blank verse
until dotage shall make you more
garrulous than now, but for the sake
of Heaven, do not criticise this chap
ter [ Our taste is different from yours.
We like to look at nature and at the
world, not only as they appear, but as
they are ! To us the study of a char-
acter like Devil-Bug s is full of interest. ,
replete with the grotesque-sublime-f-
The light of the torch glaring over
thick walls trickling with moisture;
the skeleton resting in the coffin, that
crumbles away from its bones; the
solitary grave hidden far down in
vaults where no mourners ever weep;
the terrible chaos of a heart and soul
like those of Devil-Bug, the phantoms
ever present with him, like nightmares
bestriding the heaving chest of the
Murderer these are subjects and
fancies and characters which we de
light to picture, though our pen may
not fulfil the quick conception of the
brain. But as for you, sweet virgin
man, oh reign forever the Prince of
Syllabub and Lollypop ! And when
you are dead, should we survive your
loss, we ll raise above your grave a
monument of deep regard for your
memory* Darley shall do the design

THE PIT OF MONK-HALL.

A_be-pantalooned girl, with a smooth
face and wiry hair, sitting on a volume
of travels, with a bundle of blank verse
in one hand and cake-basket full of
paragraphs in the other. It shall be
modelled in syllabub, dear Mister-
Miss, surrounded with a border of
sugar plumbs, besprinkled with pen
dent drops of frozen treacle. The
foundation of the monument shall be
of gingerbread ; the crest, a rampant
Katy-did. The motto, in especial re
ference to your travels, shall be
4 Here lies the Poet of Twaddle-dom,
whose whole life was characterized by
a pervading vein of Lollypop-itude.
This is our promise, sweet maiden-
man ; therefore we pri thee pass this
chapter by !*

" Ho, ho, ho!" chuckled Devil-Bug,
as he stood on the verge of the granite
stairway. " Here s dampness, an
darkness, an the smell o bones all
for nothin . Children under ten years
half price !^ This feller on my shoul
der don t move nor struggle. Vender
if he thinks o th jolly things we re
a-goin to do with him? Buried alive !
I do venders how that ill vork !"

With these words, Devil-Bug began
the desent of the granite stairway. The
heavy echo of his footsteps resounded
upward with a dull, monotonous sound,

* Will the reader pardon this digression of
he author? These Critics are so apt to at
tack an author, merely because they know
him to be young, and suppose him to be
friendless, that our author wanted to get the
(start of them when he wrote this passage.
We do not know who the author means by
the Prince of Lollypop ; but will simply state
that in our opinion, * * * * the Poet, has
written some very clever things. PRINTER S
DEVIL.

as lighting his way with the extended
lamp, he went far, far down into the
darkness of the staircase. Once or
twice, as the moaning sound of the
wind came rushing down the passage,
Devil-Bug started with involuntary
surprise, and with his burthen on his
shoulder, attempted to turn round, and
face the enemy, whom his excited
fancy had imagined pursuing his foot
steps. But the unconscious man gave
a faint struggle, and occupied with the
effort to hold him tightly on his shoul
der, Devil-Bug smiled at the moaning
sound of the wind, and with his usual
grimace pursued his way. Down,
down, down ! Was not that low
pattering noise the echo of a footstep
at his heels ? Devil-Bug smiled grim
ly as the fancy crossed his mind.
Down, down, down ! The old arch
way above the staircase grows crimson
with the light of the lamp, and the
drops of moisture trickling along the
walls, glittered like diamonds in a
river s sands. Was not that faint and
rustling sound the noise of a garment
sweeping the stairs at his back ? Half-
turning, Devil-Bug gazed into the
darkness above, but the thick gloom
enveloped the stairway like a pall, and
his solitary eye might discern nothing
but silence and night.

As Devil-Bug turned round, he
tossed the body of Byrnewood rather
roughly on his shoulder, and the
victim uttered a deep groan of pain
and agony.

" Oh, groan, little children groan,
as the nigger wot plays on the banjo
ses, but it won t help you the least cir
cumstance!" muttered Devil-Bug, with
a hideous grin, as extending the lamp
in his left hand, he grasped his victim

260

MABEL.

more firmly by the right, and resumed
his downward way. " You see the
opium settled your hash, and the safety
of this ere Commonwealth is in
danger ! You must be silenced for
the sake of Monk-hall, so what s the
use o cuttin capers ? Hello wasn t
that a footstep? I m quite narvous,
as the old women say ! Howsomdever,
ere s the door, the big door wot opens
into the Pit of this ere Thea-ter !"

He stood at the foot of the stairway
before the massive door, with timbers
of oak, and bands of iron. Time had
rusted away the lock, and the timbers
in various places, between the intervals
of the iron bands, were crumbling to
decay. Devil-Bug fixed his foot against
one side of the door, and it fell before
him with a crushing sound, whose
echo swelled upward like thunder.

Another moment, and advancing
over a floor of hard clay, he stood in
the Pit of Monk-Hall.

It was a vast and gloomy place, all
full of oaken beams, vising from the
floor to the ceiling far above, with
pillars of dark brick, massive and un
couth in their outlines, towering at
irregular interval on every side.
Where Devil-Bug stood, at the foot
of the stairway, with the light of his
lamp flashing fitfully around, a few
prominent features of the cellar or
cavern, were perceptible. The stair
way seemed to descend into the very
centre of the place. On either side,
the irregular light of the lamp disclos
ed faint glimpses of massive walls, all
hideous with dark holes and obscure
nooks, while the extent of the cavern
was as uncertain and vague as the
gnostly shadows which flitted from
the hard floor to the distant ceiling far

above. The floo; itseli was crowded
with rubbish and lumber of all kinds.
Innumerable heaps of broken bottles
gave evidence of the revels held in
Monk-Hall, in the olden time. Crum
bling pieces of timber, heaps of old
boards, and fragments of broken fur
niture, littered along the floor, around
the base of the heavy pillars, and
among the uprising beams of oak,
might have excited a momentary curi
osity in the mind less calm and phi
losophical than that of the Doorkeeper.
Devil-Bug, however, treated all
these things as matters of course, and
holding the light on high, with the un
conscious Byrnewood on his shoulder,
he picked his way among the heaps
of rubbish and advanced along the
cellar. He had not gone ten feet
from the entrance when a whirring
sound broke upon the stagnant air,
and then the trampling of a thousand
tiny feet echoed to the ceiling of the
cavern. The next instant, a crowd
of rats, whose immense numbers black
ened the cellar for yards around, came
rushing across the path of Devil -Bug,
and with that same whirring noise, in
a moment they were gone again. And
then crawling into the strange glare
of the light, from the heaps of bottles,
and the piles of old lumber, came ver-
mine and reptiles of all kind, and of
every loathsome shape. Glittering
house-snakes, warmed into life by the
foul air of the vault, hung twining
from the oaken beams, and the brick
pillars were half-concealed by thick
cobwebs, woven by noxious spiders,
who started from their resting places,
as the glare of the light flashed around
the place. Devil-Bug paused in the
centre of a vacant space, extending

THE PIT OF MONK-HALL.

between a massive brick pillar and a
rising piece of ground, which, shoot,
ing upward at the distance of a few
yards, closed all the floor of the vault
beyond from view. On either side
were heaps of crumbling lumber and
rubbish, and near the sudden elevation,
thick dust, the accumulation of years
of decay, had gathered ancle deep.

As Devil-Bug laid down the uncon
scious form of Byrnewood, placing it
on the hard clay beside the lamp,
which burned dimly under the pres
sure of the foul atmosphere, a deep
yet faint and moaning sound broke
on his ears. It was like the rustling
of Autumn leaves driven ashore by
angry waves, or like the rolling of a
deep flood, swollen by a freshet, or
perhaps like the far-off moaning of
wind.

iHo^JiQ-L-That s the underground
stream o water which flows beneath
the foundations o Monk-Hall, and
arter rollin onwards for a few feet,
buries itself in the ground again !
Ugh!" he started as if stricken by
ome fearful thought. " I wonder if
his body was carried off by the waves?
This piece o ground is under the
eastern range o trap-doors. Let s
see with the light yes, yes " he
added, rising the lamp overhead.
" Yes, yes ! Tender s the archway
with the trap-door o the Dead-vault
cut into its bricks! He must ave
fell somewhere about here," he stamp
ed his foot violently on the hard clay.
"But I don t see him now, with my
blind side. That puzzles me. For
six long years an more that feller
has laid by my side, with his jaw
broke and his tongue stickin out !
Now 1 don t see him, and that does

puzzle me ! Cuss the thing, I forgot
the spade !"

He glanced at the form of Byrne-
wood with a mocking laugh.

"Ha, ha! Don t be dis-patient
young man," he exclaimed as turning
away from the light he moved toward
the door. " I ll have to go up stairs
for a spade, but I ll be back d rectly.
Pon my word I will!"

He disappeared in the darkness, but
in a moment stood beside his victim,
holding a rusted spade in his hand.

" Reether old fashioned this," he
muttered, " I forgot it was down here,
You see my friend, we used it some
years back to bury a gal wot died ree-
ther sudden, as one might say. It s
been a standin against yonder pillar
ever since. A little bit rusty but it
ill do !"

While Byrnewood lay prostrate
along the hard clay, with the glare of
the lamp flashing on his face, so wan
and discolored, the blood-shot eyes
starting from the lids, and the white
lips failing apart with an expression
of idiotic vacancy. Devil-Bug cooly
proceeded to dig the grave of the un
conscious though living man, chuck
ling merrily to himself, as sticking the
spade into the earth, he paused for a
moment, and spat in his hands, like a
laborer preparing for his day s work.

"JPve hung a man in my time on
Bush-Hill, and I ve killed a man, by
the trap, and I ve buried some few,
and I ve stole corpseses for the Doc
tors, but I never did bury a man alive !
That s a fact. Not menning any harm
to you but only waiting to see how il
ill work, I ll jist lay out the grave.
Oh ye begin to be sensible o yer siti-
vation do ye ?"

862

MABEL.

A slight convulsive tremor was vi
sible on the lip of the victim. His
outspread hands clutched faintly at
the hard clay, and it was evident that
he was making a desperate effort to
rise on his feet.

" This ere clay digs hard," calm
ly soliloquized the Doorkeeper. "You d
like to git up, would ye ? No doubt.
I should if so be, I was in your place.
What s yer idea-r o grave-diggin*
anyhow ? Werry low business, aint it?"

Throwing the hard lumps of clay
on either side, he gazed with his usual
hideous grin, upon the face of Byrne-
wood Arlington, as like to a corpse as
ever was riving man. Byrnewood had
relapsed into his former unconscious
state, and now lay with his fixed eyes
glaring steadily upon the thick dark
ness above. Devil-Bug proceeded with
his task. Plying the spade with all
the vigor of his lusty arms, he soon
stood in a square pit reaching to his
knees, while the heap of clay at side of
the grave increased in size. Now
humming a catch of some dismal gal
lows-bird song in his grindstone voice,
now muttering gaily to himself, now
filling the old vault with the echo of a
Jeep and piercing whistle, which heemit-
ted from his large mouth, puckered toge
ther like the end of a purse, and now
glancing slily aside at the form of his
victim, while that same devil s-grin
distorted his inhuman face, Devil-Bug
made speedy progress in his work.
He soon stood up to his middle in the
grave.

"Hello! What could that be? I
thought I heard the sound o some
body breath in behind yonder pillar.
O* was it you, hey? I ll be ready for
you d rectly, that I will."

He again resumed his task. A*
half-concealed in the grave, he bent
down to his labor, a slight shudder,
like the faint indication of a spasm,
agitated the form of Byrnewood. Then
his hand clutched suddenly against the
hard clay, and in an instant, while his
chest heaved with convulsive throb-
bings, he arose into a sitting posture,
and with his long dark hair falling
wildly aside from his wan and ghastly
face, he gazed around the vault, witn
an agonized glance that betrayed a
fearful consciousness of his awful si
tuation. Devil-Bug turned from hi**
task, aud beheld his victim. He
shrieked forth a horrible peal of laugh
ter, more like the howl of a hyena,
than the sound of a human laugh.

" Ho, ho ! Hurray ! So ye begin
to diskiver yer sitivation? It s all
werry good that you should know
what s a-goin to be done with you,
specially when ye can t help yerself!
How ye sit there, a-starin round the
cellar, as though you wos about to&lt;
buy the primises ! Pound me to death
with pavin stones, but this is a jolly
sight!"

Laying down the spade he advanced
toward Byrnewood. The half-con
scious man shuddered as his torturer
approached.

" Hope ye ll excuse my not havin*
prayers at the grave !" he exclaimed
as he laid his hands upon Byrnewood s
shoulder with a hideous grin convul
sing his features. " You may shud
der young feller, but into that grave
you ve got to go, alive and kickin by
God !"

Devil-Bug swore by the name of the
Almighty, and this was always a sign
of deep excitement with him. His so-

THE PIT OF MONK-HALL.

263

Irtary eye blazed with that instinct of
Cruelty, which was his Soul. Laying
his hand on the shoulders of the shud
dering victim, he dragged him slowly j
toward the grave. Byrnewood s lips
parted, he essayed to speak, but the
effort was vain. An incoherent sound,
like that uttered by an enraged mute,
was all that came from his lips.

Devil-Bug dragged along the floor
and held him over the verge of the
grave when a deep groan awoke the
silence of the cellar. Devil-Bug start
ed as though a dagger had entered his
heart.

" It s Aim," he muttered dropping
Byrne wood heavily on the floor. "It s
that or nary feller who s been hauntin
me for these six years ! He always
groans when any thing evil s a-goin*
to happen to me. It s him, it s him !
Ha ! There he is with his jaw broke
an his tongue out, and ha ! ha !
There s the old woman with the blood
oozin from the edge o her broken
skull !"

Leaping over the grave, his hands
outstretched and his solitary eye flash
ing with superhuman excitement, he
receded step by step towards the
elevation, which arose above the wa
ters of the subterranean stream. The
Phantoms were before him, in all their
ghastliness and blood.

As he receded, another groan sound
ed through the vault, and entangling
his feet in some object, hidden by the
thick dust which had accumulated on
the piece of rising ground, Devil-Bug
fell heavily on his face. In a moment
he rose on his knees, and was about
starting to his feet again, when a yell
of superhuman horror shrieked from
his lips. As he fell he had tossed the

thickly-gathered dust aside, and he
now beheld the object which had en
tangled his feet. A ghastly skeleton,
with the bones falling apart from each
other, lay on the earth, before his very *1
eyes. The blackened skull, with long
rows of grinning teeth, the orbless sock- .
ets and the cavity of the nose, all crim- W
soned by the light of the lamp, touch
ed his very hand, as he knelt upon the"
corner-floor. He started to his feet
with a shriek, followed by another yell
of horror.

" It s him, the man I pitched thro
the trap," he shouted. "Here he lays
right under the trap-door, here he has
laid for six long years, and now he
wants to murder me ! Ugh ! He
moves them bony fingers as if to
clutch me by the throat, he grins iii
my face, ha, ha ! He rises from the
floor his bones rattlin against one
another, and his broken jaw droppin
blood ! I say you devil don t touch
me, dont ye, dont Ah !"

His soul fired with the sight of the
terrible phantom, aroused into life by
the spectacle of the skeleton of the
murdered man, Devil-Bug retreated
backwards, with his face turned tow
ards the light, while raising his hands
as high, he aroused the silence of the
vault with another yell of horror. As
the yell broke from his lips, he fell
backward, and was lost in the grave,
which he had dug for another.

No sooner had he disappeared jn
the pit than the form of a man sprung
from one side of the brick pillar at
the same moment that the figure of a
woman advanced from the other side.

" Quick Bess, quick I say," shout
ed the man seizing the spade. " Th(*
antidote, quick, or all is lost ! Ap

264

MABEL.

ply it to Byrnewood s lips, while I keep
this monster in his grave !"

Luke Harvey, his snake-like eye
blazing with excitement and his slen
der form raised to its extreme height,
stood beside the grave, while Long
haired Bess, her face flushed and her
dark eyes sparkling with animation,
bent over the unconscious form of
Bj-rnewood, and applied a small phial
, to his clammy lips.

" Hello feller, it was you that
groaned was it ?" shouted Devil-Bug
as his hideous face, appeared above the
edge of the grave. " What in the devil
d ye mean by them sort o capers any
how ?"

" You infernal monster," shouted
Luke Harvey with an oath. " Make
but an attempt to get out o that grave,
and I ll crush your skull with this
spade ! Quick Bess the antidote !
Apply it to Byrnewood s lips, and lead
him from the cellar while I hold this
devil at bay !"

" Joy, joy, he revives !" shouted
Bess gently raising the form of Byrne-
wood from the floor. " The antidote
has taken effect. Keep back the mon
ger another moment Luke, and we
will escape from the vault."

"Ye will, will ye?" cried Devil-Bug
grasping the edge of the grave with
his taion fingers. " list wait till I git
out o this !" His eye glared with a
ferocious gleam, as placing his knees
against the sides of the grave, he be
gan to crawl from its confines,

" Back devil ! You have made the
grave and you shall sleep in it ?"
shouted Luke, as raising the spade
above his head, he hurled it full against
Ihe skull of Devil-Bug. "Back devil ;
you have met your match this time !"

Stupified by the blow, Devil-Bag
reeled back backward into the grave.
Luke turned round, and beheld Byrne-
wood standing erect on his feet, with
the arm of Long-haired Bess gathered
round his waist, while her shoulder
supported his head.

" Lead him from the vault, Bess !"
exclaimed Luke. " In a moment old
Devil-Bug will recover from the effects
of the blow, and Byrnewood may again
fall into his hands."

" The antidote has restored him phi-
sical but not mental strength !" ex
claimed Bess as her cheek grew death
ly pale with the war of conflicting
emotions. " Ha !" she muttered to
herself as she disappeared into the
darkness of the vault with Byrnewood
walking unsteadily by her side. Ha ! *
It was in this vault that Paul Western
fell, when the trap-door sunk beneath
him. Yonder his bones lay uncovered
to the light ; and his Murderess be
holds them, and lives !"

Luke stood beside the grave hold
ing the spade in his hands, while he
gazed upon the retreating figures of
Bess and Byrnewood.

" If I believed in any particular
saint, I think I d call in their aid just
now ! A cursed scrape I m in again,
all from my my disposition to meddle
in other folks affairs. There I stood,
in front of my room, where I had just
left my character of Brick -Top,
together with the rags and the wig r
when who should tap me on the
shoulder but Bess ! Byrnewood
Arlington s in danger Devil-Bug has
just now borne him to the vaults of
Monk-Hall, quoth the maiden, and
without stopping to tell me the particu
lars she hurries down stairs, liktf

THE PIT OF MONK-HALL.

265

wildfire ! I hurry after her old
Devil -Bug is seen far below with a
man on his shoulder, and a light in
his hand we creep along stealthy as
cats, close at his heels. He enters the
cellar, places the light on the floor, and
commences his infernal orgies. We
steal behind the brick pillar, and watch
his movements. Bess tells me about
the poison and the antidote ; I select
my time for a melo-dramatic groan,
and here lies the result of that groan !
Old Devil-Bug in the grave which he
dug for another !"

A deep groan resounded from the
depths of the grave.

" Oh, you re there, are you ?" cried
Luke, as his face darkened over with
an expression of mingled hatred and
rage. " Suppose I try your own game
with you? How would you like to
be buried alive ?"

With a mocking sneer playing over
his features, he struck the spade into
the loose earth, and threw several
clumps of hard clay into the grave.
Another groan came echoing from the
pit, and Luke turned his jest into
serious earnest, by throwing one
spadeful of earth after another, into
the grave.

" Oh, groan by all means, it will
do you good !" cried Luke, plying his
spade with renewed energy. " An
elderly gentleman like yourself, who
whiles away his leisure time in bury
ing folks alive, should hold himself
prepared for any little contingincies
like the present. How are you off for
clay eh, Devil-Bug ? ?

As he spoke, the spade rose and
fell in his active grasp, and his face
warmed with excitement. The beams
of the light fell over his slender figure,

and around the grave, while all be-
yond was impenetrable darkness. As
Lude stood on the verge of the grave,
occupied with the use of the spade,
which he plyed so rapidly, a swarthy
hand stole quietly from the edge of
the pit, and moved as quietly over the
hard clay, as though feeling for some
object, and in an instant another hand,
with talon fingers, appeared by its
side. Luke did not behold these
hands moving so quietly beside his
very feet, but absorbed in his occupa
tion, continued to shower the hard
clods into the grave.

" Ha, ha !" he laughed, as his dark
eye gleamed with excitement. " Old
DeviUBug little thought of this when
he dug the grave ! It was his turn
awhile ago, it s my turn now, and "

" It s my turn ag in !" shouted a
hoarse voice, and the grim face of
Devil-Bug, all streaming with blood,
was thrust from the edge of the grave.
" There s sich a thing as playin pos
sum, young man !"

He seized Luke by the ancles, and
with all the strength of his iron-sinew
ed arms gathered for the effort, flung
him to the earth. In another instant
he had leaped from the grave, and
stood over the prostrate form of Luke
with his iron-hand upraised, while his
eye blazed with rage.

" Take that, feller !" he muttered,
with a deep emphasis, as gathering
all his strength for the blow, he struck
Luke on the head, near the right
temple. Luke saw the blow descend
ing, and tried to ward it off, but in
vain. The blow descended, and in
another moment, with a faint tremor
quivering through his frame, Luke lay
senseless as a stone.

166

MABEL.

4 No w for the ring !" cried Devil-
Bug, raising the left hand of Luke in
the light. " Ah-ha ! Here it is ; on
the third finger, and a werry purty
ring it is ! He wouldn t part with it
except with his life ha, ha ! I reether
guess that he ll part with the ring and
his life at wonst !"

Bending over the unconscious form
of Luke, he extended his hands and
fastened the talon-like fingers around
his throat, with the grasp of a vice.

"I wouldn t give much for yer eyes,
my feller!" he muttered, tightening
the grasp of his fingers, until the face
of the prostrate man grew purple, and
the lids of his eyes, slowly unclosing,
revealed the bloodshot eyeballs start
ing from their sockets. " It s my
opinion you d make a bad subject for
the dissectin table !"

A deep booming sound like distant
thunder, echoed through the vaults and
chambers of the mansion. Devil-Bug
released his grasp on the throat of
Luke and sprang to his feet. It was
but the labor of a moment to seize the
lamp and rush toward the door of the
cellar. With his muscular right hand
he raised the fallen door from its rest
ing place, and placing it against the
door-frame, as he stepped upon the
first block of the granite stairway, left
the vault in utter darkness.

In a moment, however, the door
was pushed slowly aside, and the face
of Devil-Bug, all hideous with an ex
pression of sneering glee, appeared in
the aperture, while his extended hand
flung the rays of the light over the
darkness of the vault.

" He lays beside the grave ha, ha,
ha and I ve got the ring ! He lays
alongside o the grave, and there he ll

rot, until his clothes fall, piece by
piece, from his stripped bones ! Ho
ho ! The worms won t play all sorts
o* games with his eyes? O course
not. Nor strip the flesh from his
skull, nor fatten on his lips until the
white teeth grin for joy? Nobody
thinks o such a thing ! Ha ! There
goes the gong agin I must tend to
the wants o Parson Pyne !"

The incarnate sneer which played
over his countenance, suddenly gave
place to that peculiar expression,
which had agitated his visage an hour
before, in the presence of Parson Pyne
and his fair daughter. What was
the meaning of this expression, it were
difficult to tell, but it drew the eye
brows down from the protuberent fore
head of Devil-Bug, until the sockets
were nearly hidden by their thick and
uneven hair, it compressed his wide
mouth with an expression as grotesque
as it was determined, while his solitary
eye grew alive with a deadly and glar
ing light like the white heat on a bar
of iron. There was revenge in that
expression, and memory and love !
The heart of the monster suddenly be
came a chaos, over whose tumultuous
clouds of storms and darkness, a
single ray of light, streaming from the
fair distance, revealed a gentle form,
with arms outstretched in mercy, and
a fair face animated with a smile of/
love.

"Nell!" muttered Devil-Bug, be
tween his clenched teeth. " It s werry
long ago since I saw yer face " he
paused suddenly while some dim
memory seemed struggling from the
chaos of his soul. " I don t know
much about it now, but if it is, if it i
I say, then he shall die by inches,

THE PIT OF MONK-HALL.

36?

or there ain t no sich person as Devil-
Bug!"

He closed the door of the vault, and
all was darkness. Close beside the
grave, cold and stiffening lay the form
of Luke Harvey, with the rats, who
were so soon to hold their revel on his
\ flesh, already crawling around their
prey, and snuffing their banquet in the
tainted air of the vault. Close beside
the grave lay the skeleton of the mur
dered man, mouldering to dust, in
darkness and silence, as it had lain
for years, and the sullen stream of the
vault still rolled moaningly onward,
its sluggish waves chaunting a rude
death-song for the slain. The nooks
and crannies of the vault took up the
echo of the flood, and on all sides a
low-muttered murmur, swelling to the
arching roof above, seemed but the
whispered tones of fiends, chuckling
with glee as they spoke of the murders
done in the Pit of Monk-Hall.

Meanwhile along the rough steps
of granite, Long-haired Bess, support
ing the head of Byrnewood on her
shoulder, while her arm encircled his
waist, endeavoured to lead the half-
conscious man, as the distant echo of
voices came muttering to her ear from
the Pit of Monk-Hall, whose door lay
but a few yards at her back.

He is yet unconscious," she mur
mured, as the head of Byrnewood
pressed heavily on her shoulder.
"The stairs are dark, and his foot
steps are faint and trembling, but he
shall yet be saved !"

And thus, in silence and suspense,
she led him up the lofty stairs, until
they stood on the floor of the hall in
front of the Banquet Room. Here his

strength seemed to fail him, but the

&gt;rave woman, gathered her arm yet

ighter around his waist, and hurried

rim along the stairs leading to the

first floor of Monk-Hall. Then the

nassive stairway of the mansion was

assed, and in a few moments Bess

nd her charge stood in the darkness

of the hall on the second floor.

" The secret door lies this way,"
she murmured, leading him toward
he northern end of the hall. " The^,
secret door leading to the Well Room
Monk-Hall. A private staircase,
juilt in the walls between the mansion
and the Tower building, leads down
nto a narrow entry. This entry once
raversed, he will stand in the Well
Room, which is on the ground floor
of the Tower building. A narrow
door separates him from the yard.
That door passed, the fence scaled,
and a long alley traversed, he will
gain the wide street, he will be saved!
Ha ! Devil-Bug approaches, I hear his
footstep on the stairs !"

" My sister, my sister !" murmured
Byrnewood speaking for the first time,

Ah ! I have been entangled in the
mazes of some horrible dream ! Whew
am I ? Whose hand is this upon my
shoulder and this darkness, what
does it mean ?"

"The antidote has taken full effect !"
cried Bess in a tone of joy. " His
strength is restored ! This way sir,
this way !" she continued leading him
toward the secret door. " Down the
private staircase, and through the small
room at its foot, you will enter the
yard of Monk-Hall. Scale the fence
and you are saved ! Quick or all la
lost ! Ha ! Mark you the gleam of that
light, flashing from the stairway along

168

MA BEL.

the entry. Devil-Bug approaches and
all is lost 1"

The light flashing up the stairway
faintly illumined the hall. Byrnewood
pressed his hands madly to his brow,
as if in the effort to awake himself
from some horrible dream. Then a
sudden glow flushed over his face, and
with a rude movement of his arm he
flung Bess aside.

" Ha ! I remember it all. My sis
ter, and the drug. It comes like a
lightning flash upon my soul ! And
you, you were one of the minions of
the seducer ! Back, back, touch me
not! Your hand is as polluted as
your soul !"

" Quick ! Pass through the secret
door, and gain the Well-Room or you
are Devil-Bug s prisoner once more !"

" Leave Monk-Hall, and my sister in
the power of the seducer] Never!
Oh Mary my own true sister, I will
save you yet ! The villain shall pay
for his crime with his life ; your wrong
shall be washed out in the blood of the
seducer !"

Exerting all her strength for the ef
fort, Bess seized him by the shoulder,
and forced him through the narrow
doorway.

" Quick, or all is lost !" she shriek
ed. " Before God I swear to rescue
your sister from the foul den of Monk-
Hall ! Away, away !"

As she spoke the light grew more
vivid along the stairway, and Devil-
Bug stood on the floor of the Hall. At
a glance he beheld Bess and the form
of Byrnewood, as he stood in the nar
row door. He hailed them with a yell,
and holding the light in his hand rush
ed wildly forward.

" Now will you fly ?" shouted Bess.

" Delay one moment longer, and youi
life is in this monster s power ! Yom
sister is lost forever. Away !"

" I go !" shouted Byrnewood, aa
his wan face, reddened with a gleam
of excitement. But I will return
again, with the power to avenge my
sister s wrong ! Let the seducer and
his minions make the most of their
hour of crime ! My hour will come,
and my sister s wrong shall be washed
out in her seducer s blood !"

Bess hurried him through the door
way, and his footsteps were heard upon
the stairs. Devil-Bug stood before the
tall woman, his face darkened by a
hideous frown.

" Well you she-devil, so you ve let
that feller escape have ye ?" he mut
tered as he approached her, with a
look that boded no good.

" He has escaped, thank heaven he
has escaped !" cried Bess as her dark
eye fired with triumph, while her
proud form towered to its full stature.

Devil-Bug made no reply, but fold
ing his arms across his chest, with the
light in one hand, he inclined his head
to one side, as if in the act of listen
ing to some far-off sound.

In a moment a crushing sound, like
the peal of musquetry, came thunder
ing up the private staircase.

" D ye hear that ?" shouted Devil-
Bug as his eye flashed with an express
ion of malignant triumph. " D ys
hear that sound, g-a-1? Ho, ho, ho!
Yer feller passes down the stairs, he
passes the entry, he crosses the room,
ha, ha, ha ! In the centre of that
room, is the old well of Monk-Hall ki-
vered with loose boards ! Yer feller
tries to cross that room, ho, ho, ho !
The loose boards don t give way be-

THE PIT OF M JNK-HALL.

369

neath nis feet ? What does that crash
mean ? You ve made a purty spot of
business of this matter, I do declare !"

Great God ! He is lost !" cried
Bess turning white as a sheet in the
face. " But I will save him yet "
she cried opening the secret door.
Even yet I will foil ye, monster and
devil that you are !"

" Werry likely g-a-l, werry likely,"
exclaimed Devil-Bug quietly interpo
sing between her form and the door.
" But jist now you ll retire to yer
apartments. Arter this minnit consi
der yerself a pris ner. Go home
Bessie " he continued with his habi
tual sneer. " Go home little g-a-l,
yer mommy s got short cakes an cof
fee for supper. She wants you don t
you hear her callin . "

Bess calmly folded her arms, and
while a dark frown marred the beauty
of her countenance, she m vod r lowly
toward the staircase o r mansion.

" Fine gal, that!" Iwoklod Devil-
Bug, eyeing her retreating form.
" Only she takes too much opium in
her brandy, now an then. But Bess
is a screamer, when her dander is riz;
a reg lar hell-cat for all sorts o devil
ment "

Bess slowly turned her head over
her shoulder, and with her eyes flash
ing with concentrated rage, whispered
a single name.

" Paul Western !" she exclaimed
with her eyes fixed on Devil-Bug s
face.

What d ye mean by that ? Hey,
you she-devil 1" cried Devil-Bug, ad
vancing with a threatening gesture.

" What do I mean ?" echoed Bess
with a bitter sneer. " Why I mean
that your account is almost full ! The

blood of Paul Western clings to youi
skirts, and look there Devil-Bug,
look there!" she exclaimed pointing
to the vacant air at his back " Do
you not see his skeleton, standing at
your shoulder ? Look, look ! The
long bony fingers are grasping for
your throat "

Devil-Bug turned round with an in
voluntary shudder. When he looked
toward the stairway again, Bess had
disappeared.

" That g-a-l is a born devil !" he
muttered. " Howsomdever I ll go
down stairs and see if that feller is
ralely done for !"

He disappeared through the private
door, and for a few moments, the
Hall was wrapt in darkness.

" All right, jist as if I d done it my
self!" he cried as he was again visi
ble through the aperture of the door
way. " The boards all broke and
smashed, and a heap o clothes flutter-
in and movin near the bottom of the
well !"

He laughed with ungovernable glee,
but in a moment the expression of his
hideous face, was shadowed by a hea
vy frown.

" The g-a-l," he muttered. " Here
I ve been foolin my time away with
trifles, when, when "

As he spoke he entered the door of
Dr. Pyne s ante-chamber.

MABEL.

CHAPTER NINTH.

PATENT-GOSPEL GRACE.

:c ls it not beautiful my child 1 Is it
not beautiful?"

As he spoke, with his knees spread
very wide apart from each other, and
the cup of coffee placed on one knee,
the Reverend Doctor, waved the silver
spoon to and fro, nodding all the
while, and glancing with a curious
look at the fair face of Mabel, who
was seated opposite. We say curious
look, because he was a good Minister,
and it would not do, to call that sen
sual glance, gleaming through half-
closed eyelids, humid with unhealthy
moisture, by its proper name.

" What is beautiful ?" asked Ma-
bel, as she raised the cup of coffee to
her lips.

" To think that a berry should grow
in the ground," continued Alamont
Pyne, glancing aside at the face of
his daughter, while he beat a tattoo
on the saucer with the end of the
spoon. " To think that a berry should
grow in the ground, and that, that
simple berry, by a mysterious decree
of Providence, should in the course
of time, assume the appearance of a
cup of coffee !"

The Rev. Dr. Pyne raised his wa
tery eyes heavenward, but in an in
stant as though impelled by some
strange charm, he fixed them upon
the face of abel, with that same
gloating expression of fatherly affec
tion. Fatherly affection, by all
means.

" Drink your coffee, my love,
drink, it will do you good !" said the
Rev. Pyne with an unctuous fatness

of voice. "Nothing like coffee to
raise your spirits, specially," he ad-
ded in a cheerful whisper, Specially
when it is spiced with a drug or two."

" I feel so strange, father," exc airn-
ed Mabel passing her white hand over
her brow. " There is a burning sen
sation on my forehead, and my eyes
pain me. Oh father, can I indeed bo
going mad 1 The room is filled with
strange forms, and I feel as though
an invisible hand was dragging me
over a frightful precipice "

Her dark eyes suddenly assumed
a wild and unearthly light. In an in
stant the lids seemed to have shrunken
away from the eyeballs, and each
eye, dilating to an unnatural size, as
sumed a strange lustre, rendered
more apparent and striking by the
utter paleness of the countenance,
with a single vivid spot of red, crim
soning the centre of each swelling-
cheek. Even the lips of the maiden
assumed an unnatural hue. Sud
denly their moist vermilion changed
to a warm and unhealthy purple.

" Father, father," she cried, "I am
going mad ! For God s sake, save
me, save me ! The room sinks from
beneath my feet, the air is filled with
horrible phantoms, and oh save me,
save me!"

She fell back into the chair, and
covered her face with her hands.

" This is the first stage of the po-
lion," blandly whispered Dr. Pyne,
as his red face, with its rubicund
cheeks, flushed all over with deep
crimson, assumed an expression of the
most decided character. " At first she
will be frightened, then she will fall
into a gentle doze, and then, ah then!
He took her fair while hand within

PATENT-GOSPEL GRACE.

271

his own, and patted it playfully against
his oily cheek. " No one shall hurt
you my child. Your papa is with
you. Go to sleep, that s a dear, Ma
bel."

Her form thrown back in the chair,
with the limbs disposed in a careless
and therefore voluptuous position.
Mabel gazed at her father with a wild
stare as though she did not compre
hend the meaning of his words. She
looked supremely beautiful, as with
her dark hair, falling in heavy masses
aside from her pale face, she surren
dered one hand to her father, while
the other rested upon the white skin
of her neck, just where it began to ex
pand into the virgin bosom.

"I gave Devil-Bug three potions,
sometime ago," muttered Dr. Pyne, as
he drew his chair to the side of the be
wildered girl. "One kills, the other
makes crazy, the third makes love;
or rather disposes a sweet young girl
for the exercise of that delightful sen
timent."

"Father, look, look! There, at
at your very shoulder, stands a skele
ton, winding a grave-shroud round
your limbs ! Oh, father, for Heaven s
sake, do not suffer it to stand there
with its bony fingers on your cheek."

" Ugh ! The girl scares the life out
of one !" cried Dr. Pyne, jumping
from his chair. " Ah-ha ! She begins
to doze ! How beautiful ! That pale
face, so round in its outlines, with the
spot of red on each cheek, those lips
they change from purple to red
again falling slightly apart, that
glimpse of a soft bosom Ah-ha !
She does begin to doze "

Mabel s head dropped lightly on
her shoulder, and her eyelids slowly
18

closed. Her long dark hair fell
showering over her white shoulders.
Her arms sank stiffly by her side.
She lay silent and motionless as
though suddenly stricken by the hand
of death.

The Rev. Dr. Pyne rose slowly
from his seat. He smacked her lips
with unctuous fervor, and then taking
his watch from the fob, he strode
quietly up and down the room.

" This is the second stage of the
potion," he whispered, looking at the
watch. " The third stage is the most
delightful of all. That paleness will
give place to a peach-like bloom, that
stiffness of limb will be overcome by
a voluptuous languor, that closed eye,
when its lids again unclose, will fire
with passion and flash with all the be
witching softness of a woman s lovie !
It now wants ten minutes of twelve
o clock. At twelve, the dear child
will be in my power. The care and
trouble of seventeen years will be well
repaid. Ah-ha ! I remember ; I have
to preach the Anniversary Sermon of
the Gospellers on Christmas night,
let me think it over !"

Mabel still lay silent and uncon
scious, her hands dropped listlessly
by her side, while her cheeks were

le and colorless as death.

" Yes, yes," soliloquized the pious
Dr. Pyne. " I might touch up the
Gospellers on that score! I might
talk of my wonderful conversion, my
sudden reform, my glorious change
from darkness to light. Yes, bretheru
and sisters," he continued, striking an
attitude as though surveying his con
gregation from the heighth of the pul
pit. " Seventeen years ago, I was a
poor miserable wretch, destitute at

872

MABEL.

once of a good coat a pure knowledge
of the Bible ! Now brothers, now
sisters, behold me, behold the wonder-
ful reform, all accomplished by pure
Patent Gospel grace ! (Ha ! Mabel re
vives ! Her eyes slowly unclose and
her lips fire with passion !) Seven
teen years ago I was a ragged loafer,
a leprous wretch, hiding in dark cor
ners in the day, and sleeping in the
gutters ai night! Now brethren
and you, my dear sisters behold the
change ! A change of heart and a
change of linen ! I walk the streets
in the day, clad in fine broadcloth ;
at night I sleep on a bed of down, and
my conscience, brothers and sisters,
oh it is peaceful, calm and peaceful !
Easy, quite e-a-s-y, I assure you !
And this, my children " his red
round face assumed an expression of
deep pathos "is all the work Patent
Gospel grace !"

Subsiding from his pulpit attitude,
the good brother approached the un
conscious girl. A warm glow brighten
ed freshly over her pale face, and her
dark eyes half-closed, gave forth a
sparkling glance, moistened with pas
sion. While the pious minister stood
gazing upon her, with a look as pure
as the glance from the bloodshot eye
of a Satyr, her form relaxing from its
rigidity of muscle, began to assume
the flowing outlines of voluptuous
beauty. She grew radiant with pas
sion. The red lips, slightly parted,
revealing the teeth like pearls, the
young bosom heaving with life, the
face warmed with a burning flush, and
the eye, large, dark and lustrous,
humid with the moisture of passion
alas for Mabel now ! The potion ad-
mmisterod by the good Doctor Pyne,

had aroused her animal nature m*.
life, and she stood disclosed, a breath
ing image of that voluptuousness
which is at once the charm and the
curse of woman.

" Come kiss your father," said Dr
Pyne, extending his arms towards the
girl. "That s a good child. Kiss
your papa !"

Mabel gazed upon him with wander
ing glance. It was evident that while
her animal nature was aroused into
full development, her intellectual
powers were for the moment crushed,
if not utterly broken. The glance
which rested upon Dr. Pyne s face
was humid with passion, but it was
the glance of an idiot.

14 The potion works like a miracle !"
murmured the Parson, as his rubicund
face warmed with a ruddy glow, while
his watery eyes, with the veins of
each pupil filled with discolored blood,
stood out from their very sockets, with
a look of gloating admiration. " Come
and kiss your papa, Mabel ! It was
a good girl, that it was, and it must
uss its papa !"

Like one arising in their sleep, Ma-
Del arose from the chair, and extending
ler arms, advanced to her father s
side. Her footsteps trembled as she
walked. Still the flush brightened in
her cheek, still the glance, flashing
from her dark eye, grew more soft
and mellowed with the moisture of
)assion, still her fair young bosom
rose heaving from beneath the folds
of her night robe.

She extended her arms and kissed his
ips. Faugh ! Those lips were gross
and sensual, though they were a Par
son s lips ! She kissed his lips again,
and yet again. She laid her so/ 1

PATENT-GOSPEL GRACE.

271

cheek against his face she encircled
his neck with her round arms ; he
felt her tiny fingers playing with the
thin locks of his hair. The Parson s
face grew more crimson, and his arms
gathered more closely around his
daughter s waist.

" It is a good child, so it is,"
whispered Doctor Pyne, kissing her
red lips. " And it will come and sit
on papa s knee, so it will !"

He drew the fair girl to his knee, his
watery eyes grew more sensual in
their gaze, and his arms gathered
more closely round her waist.

" What a blessed thing it is, to pos
sess, a knowledge of medical science,
however slight !" And Dr. Pyne kiss
ed the red lips of the girl, with priest-
fervor. " Here she was, an hour
ago, full of intellectual energy ! Now,
ho, ho, her mind is laid to sleep for
a little while, and all the animal por
tion of her nature, is aroused into ac
tive life. Quite active ! A good po
tion that! A-h " the good Dr.
Pyne tasted the freshness of her lips
again.

" Ha ! Ha ! Ha !" Dr. Pyne start
ed with a sudden thrill of horror, as
that maniac laugh broke on his ear.

" Ha ! Ha ! Ha !" The girl start
ed to her feet, and while her swelling
cheeks flushed with animation, and
her dark eyes seemed to swim in li
quid fire, she stood erect upon the
floor, her extended hands pointing at
his face, with a maniac-gesture.

" Mabel, my child " the Dr. be
gan, as he rose from his seat.

" Ha, Ha, Ha !" shrieked the girl,
as with that same unearthly look she
gazed steadily in the face of the good
Parson.

" What can all this mean ? Cer-
tainly the child has gone mad! Ma
bel, my dear, come to your pa-pa !"

Still the girl stood erect, her form
raised to its full heighth, her eyes ga-
hering new fire every instant, her
cheek, blooming with unnatural fresh
ness, while her extended hands, with
he long fingers trembling in the light,
xrinted fixedly in his face. Oh how
Beautiful the picture a vivid imper
sonation of beauty, mere animal love-
iness, yet still bewitching loveliness,
utterly deprived of intellect ! The
ong dark hair falling over the shoul
ders, the erect attitude, the extended
arms, and the flowing robes of snowy
white, the large dark eyes, dilating
very instant, and swimming in a
strange light, the pale face with the
burning freshness in the centre of each
heek, the red lips and the young bo
som rising faintly into view. Oh
beautiful as a dream, and yet more
terrible than death !

Ha, ha, ha !"

Dr. Pyne turned pale. The laugh
sounded like the shriek of his evil
angel.

" Come girl no more of this !" He
advanced fiercely toward the maiden.
His hands were clenched, and his
brow was darkened by a frown. " No
more of this ! Your shrieks will
arouse the neighborhood. I have
trifled too long ?"

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Louder and
more terrible arose that shriek of ma
niac laughter.

" Now for the reward, for which I
have waited seventeen long years !"

He seized the maiden by the shoul
der, and with one rude grasp tore the
night robe from her bosom. The

274

MABEL.

white fragments fluttered in his hatids.
Another moment and his arms were
around her waist : his foul lips stain
ed her bosom with a kiss. ,

A wild light flashed from the eyes
of the girl. Her cheek grew pale as
death, and then crimson as the dawn !
Her soul was struggling with her ani
mal nature ! She tossed her arms
aloft, she tore her form from the em
brace of the priestly villian, she tried
to cover the round globes of her bo
som, with outspread fingers of her
fair white hands.

" Damnation !" shouted the Preach
er, as his round face grew purple
with rage.

" You shall not foil me this time !"

Maddened with lust and rage he
advanced, he gathered the quivering
waist of the girl within his vigorous
arm. She struggled and writhed, and
leapt from her very feet in the effort
to tear herself from his grasp. He
raised his clenched hand and oh vil
lian and dastard ! He struck her to
the floor ! Her white bosom received
the blow. Along one round and
snowy globe, a dark streak of purple,
burst from the skin, and stamped the
traces of his violence.

She lay prostrate on the floor, her
breath heaving with convulsive gasps,
her form quivering like a leaf, her
cheek white as marble. He knelt by
her side. He, the profaner of God s
sacrament, the violator of God s truth,
the blasphemer of God s name ! He
knelt before the crazed girl, he ga
thered her form in his arms, he kiss
ed her death-cold lips. One more ef
fort, sweet Mabel ! With one convul
sive bound she sprang from his em-
orace, again sunk kneeling on the

floor, and raised her hands and eyes
to heaven.

" OH MOTHER," she cried in tones
that would have melted the heart of
the fiend in hell, " OH MOTHER,
SAVE YOUR CHILD !"

And her eyes were upward cast, and
her hands were outstretched as if to
grasp the phantom-form, which her
crazed fancy beheld floating in the
darkened air.

" You cannot escape me now !"
shouted Pyne in a voice grown hoarse
with passion. " Mine you are by
heaven, and mine by hell ! Ho, ho,
my beauty ! You ran away from my
house did you ? You placed my cha
racter in jeopardy, did you ? Ho, ho
my beauty, we ll see who s master
now !"

He rushed toward the girl. She
rose from the floor, and retreated to
ward a dark corner of the room. Her
face turned over her shoulder, hei
long dark hair floating down her
back, the white hands clasped over
her bosom, she fled wildly forward ;
her foot became entangled in the car-
pet ; she fell prostrate on the floor.

A gleam of malignant triumph shot
from the Preachers eyes.

" I have you at last !" he muttered
as he knelt by her side. His watery
eyes grew expressive with a look of
gloating admiration. For a moment
he gazed upon the girl in silence. She
lay prostrate upon the floor, her form
quivering with a slight convulsive
motion, while she gazed upon his face
with her large black eyes dilating in
an expression of utter horror.

" Oh tremble, trem-b-1-e !" whis
pered the good Dr. Pyne. " It does
me good to see you laying there, help

PARSON PYNE HAS A GOOD LAUGH TO HIMSELF.

f ess as a baby ! You may cry for
help no one will hear you ! You
may attempt to escape but the doors
are locked ! Tremble, oh trem-b-1-e !"

The girl shuddered as the full sense
of her danger broke upon her clouded
reason. Still she lay prostrate on the
floor, her face pale as death, while
she gazed upon the Parson, in help-;
less terror.

" Save me mother oh save me !"
she muttered in a low whisper, as if
talking to a spirit.

" Your mother can t save you now !
You must come to your pa-pa, my
love !" He bent down and gathered
her form in his arms.

" Save me, mother," shrieked Ma
bel, " Oh save me mother !"

" You are mine ! You are " be
gan the Parson in tones of exultation,
when his arms suddenly relaxed their
hold, and his fat form rolled senseless
on the floor.

- &gt; " G-a-1 you called yer mother, and
that call saved ye !" said a rough
voice. Mabel looked up, and shrieked.
Devil-Bug in all his hideous deformity
stood at her side. His face was con
vulsed with an expression of fearful
toatred, and his long talonlike fingers
worked as with an epileptic spasm.

" Here Glow-worm, here Muske-
ter," he shouted, " Drag this old por-
pis into the next room !"

The negroes came stealing through
the small doorway of the apartment.
They seized the unconscious form of
the Reverend Pyne. and bore him into
the ante-chamber. Devil-Bug was
alone with the fair girl.

He stooped slowly down, while she

huddered in horror, at the sight of his

hideous visage. He gathered his rough

arms around her tender form , hq
raised her from the floor. She shriek-
ed with affright. Devil-Bug. Uembled
from head to foot. Stepping softly
over the floor, he bore her to the bed,
and laid her gently on its coverlid,,
Mabel s dark eyes grew lustrous with
terror.

Devil-Bug stepped backward from
the bed. He gazed upon her face for
a moment in silence. His huge mouth
was fixedly compressed, and his large
nostrils quivered with a nervous move
ment. His solitary eye glared upon
the face of the girl with a fearful inten
sity. She was thrilled to the very
heart with a strange awe.

A wild cry burst from his lips. It
was like the howl of an enraged beast
holding the hunters at bay. Again
that cry ! He rushed fiercely toward
the bed. Mabel started up in involun
tary affright. Devil-Bug struck his
huge hands violently against his fore
head, and uttered that terrific howl
yet again. Then turning on his heel,
he fled madly from the room.

CHAPTER TENTH.

PARSON PYNE HAS A GOOD LAUGH TO
HIMSELF.

THE portly form of Parson Pyne
lay on the carpet of the ante-chamber,
with a huge negro watching on either
side.

Devil -Bug rushed madly into the
apartment and stood beside the form
of the unconscious Preacher. His
solitary eye glared with all the malig
nity of a devil, as its glance rested

376

MABEL.

upon the round and rubicund face of
the Parson.

" Here, yo niggers," he shouted ;
u d ye see that couch ? Strip off the
bed an the bedclothes, and lay the
Parson on the sackin bottom ! That s
right, that s right ! Now, Musketer,
tie one leg to that bed-post, and Glow
worm, d ye hear? You tie his tother
leg to the tother bed-post ! Sarve his
hands the same way ! Ha, ha ! He
looks like the letter X in the primer
books !"

The fat form of the parson was ex
tended on the sacking bottom, with
each leg tightly pinioned by the ancle
to the bed -posts at the foot, while his
extended hands were tied in the same
manner, to the posts at the head of
the couch. He certainly looked like
a very corpulent representative of St.
Andrew s cross. His round paunch
stood out from the sacking bottom in
painful prominence, and his large lips
hanging apart, afforded an interesting
anatomical view of his mouth and
pallet.

" Is the poker and the tongs heated
to a white heat ?" grunted Devil-Bug,
scowling fiercely in the faces of his
negroes.

" Yes, massa," cried Glow-worm,
as he raised the tongs in the light,
with its point heated to a glaring white
heat.

" Dis do, massa ?" cried Musquito,
producing the poker, whose jabbed
point, also heated to a white heat,
emitted a fierce and blinding glare.

Where am I ?" said Parson Pyne,
faintly, as he unclosed his eyes.

" Why you see, Parson, I wanted
to axe you a few questi ns, and bein
afeer d you wouldn t answer em

quite easy, I jist tied yo to that bed,
and got a couple o first rate lawyers
to plead with you "

" Lawyers ?" echoed Parson Pyne.
"Ha! I am tied to the bed. What
d ye mean, ye villain? Where are
your lawyers ?"

" Here they is, Parson !" exclaimed
Devil-Bug, and the two negroes, hold
ing the heated irons in their hands,
stood by the bedside.

" Ugh !" the involuntary groan was
forced from the lips of the pinioned
parson. " Villain, d ye mean to mur
der me?"

" No, not xactly. I only wants to
axe ye a few questi ns. If so be, you
refuses to answer "

If I refuse to answer "

" Why then I ll burn your eyes out
o your head !" replied Devil-Bug, his
solitary eye flashing with concentrated
hate.

Parson Pyne was silent for a mo
ment. He looked at the huge negroes
by the bedside and a cold shudder rai
over his fat person.

"What are your questions?" he
faintly asked.

" Is that gal in the next room your
darter?" exclaimed Devil-Bug, bending
his head down to receive the answer.

" She is," responded the Parson, in
a firm tone.

" That s a big a lie as ye ever did
tell " growled Devil-Bug. " I see we
can t git no truth out o yo without
the lawyers. Take off his shoes an
stockin s, Glow-worm !"

4 Dev-i-l," muttered Parson Pyne,
with a violent struggle to extricate
himself from his uneasy position.
" You shall dearly pay for this inso
lence !"

PARSON PYNE HAS A GOOD UGH TO HIMSELF.

27?

* Werry likely," responded Devil-
Bug. " But for the present we ll at
tend to business."

As he spoke, Glow-worm flung the
shoes and stockings of the Parson on
the floor, and his bare feet, with the
toes thrust upward, were exposed to
the light.

" Tighten them cords round the
ancles," muttered Devil-Bug. " Now
Parson, for the last time will yo
answer all my questions in regard to
that darter o yours? And ricollec ,
Parson, yer not among the Patent-
Gospel fellers now /"

Pyne made no answer, but gazed
in the face of Devil-Bug with his
watery eyes distended by an expres
sion of utter amazement.

" Gi me the iron !" exclaimed
Devil-Bug, as he took the heated poker
from Musquito s hands. " Now, Par
son, vich eye do yo valley most?"
He held the jagged point of thr. iro.i
within an inch of the Parson s right
eye.

"Oh o-h," screamed Parson Pyne,
as the heat of the iron shot a terrible
pang through his very brain. " Take
care, take care ! You ll burn out my
ye! Oh, o-h!"

" That I will !" grunted Devil-Bug,
as the gaze of his solitary eye grew
like the white heat of the iron.
"H-i-s-s! h-i-s-s! Parson don t yo
feel the sagged pint hissing into yer
eye already ?" He held the iron with
in a half-in-inch of the Preacher s
right eye.

"Oh o-h!" roared the Parson, as
his brain was penetrated by the fierce
heat of the iron. "I ll answer, I ll
answer ! Take the iron from the
room and I ll answer."

L l-Bug grinned hideously.

" You ll answer, will ye ? I
I got yo on the anxious bench that
time ! Souse them irons into that
bucket o water, niggers ! Now, Par
son, with regard to that darter !"

Parson Pyne glanced cautions^
aside. He beheld the negroes in the
act of plunging the hot irons into a
bucket of water. The hissing sound
emitted by the irons as they sank be
neath the water broke, like the voice of
a friend, on his ears.

" Go to the devil !" he shouted, in
a tone of husky rage. "You may
kill me, but I will not answer youi
questions !"

" Oh, you won t, won t you ?" ex
claimed Devil-Bug, as his habitual
grin distorted his features. " What
ill yo bet, Parson, that you don t an
swer my questions in a minute? And
answer em laffin , too?" As he
spoke he walked round to the foot of
the bed, and extended his large hands
until! the talon fingers almost touched
thb soles of the Parson s feet.

" Monster, you shall pay for this!"
cried the Reverend Pyne, as his fat
face was distended by an expression
of surprise. He evidently gazed upon
the movements of Devil-Bug with
some considerable wonder.

" Now, Parson, for the questi ns !
And fust o all, I ll tell you what I
know mesself. Pick yer ears, Parson !
About Christmas Eve, eighteen hun
dred an twenty-five, a man named
Dick Baltzar, with his wife, Sarah
Baltzar, hired rooms in the house o

the widder Crank, livin in street,

near street."

" Ha !" the involuntary cry of sur
prise was forced fror j the Parson s lips.

278

MABEL.

" Wos yo that man, Dick Baltzar,
or wos yo riot?"

" Go to the devil !" roared Parson
Pyne.

" Oh, werry well, wer-r-y well !"
exclaimed Devil-Bug, as he gently
touched the soles of the Parson s feet
with the tips of his talon fingers. " I ll
tune you up, my pianey fortey, I will !
Ho, ho ! How d ye feel, Parson ?"

" Ha! ha! ha!" roared the Parson,
with an outburst of spasmodic laughter,
the result of the titillating movement
of Devil-Bug s fingers along the soles
of his feet. " Ha ! ha ! ha ! Ho ! ho !
ho! Oh-oh-oh! Hi! hi! hi! Oh for
God s sake don t d-o-n-t ! Hoo !
hoo ! hoo !" And the fat form of the
Parson wriggled, and strained, and
heaved, as with an epiletic fit.

Ho, ho! My pianey fortey!"
cried Devil-Bug, executing a flourish
with his finger tips upon the delicate
soles of the Parson s feet. " I ll tune
you up, I will ! Laugh, Parson, it ill
do you good, laugh, I say !"

" Ha ! ha ! ha-a !" roared the Par
son, making a desperate effort to with
draw his feet from the touch of the
talon fingers. " Ho! ho ! ho-o ! Hi!
hi ! hi ! Oh mer-cy ! For God s sake
don t ye tickle tickle me ! Hurrah !
Ha! ha!"

" Ha ! ha !" roared Devil-Bug, ex
ecuting another flourish.

"Hah! ya-hah!" shouted Glow
worm.

" Ya-hah-ha-yah !" echoed Mus-
quito.

"Go it my pianey fortey !" cried
Devil -Bug, with a most effective
flourish. " Jist see how my fingers
go over these white soles J Ha! ha!
Parson, you save souls ; I tickles em !

* Gently over the stones, driver I*
E-a-sy, I say !"

"Ha! ha! ha-a-a!" roared the
Parson, as he grew black in the face,
while his watery eyes started from
their sockets. " Ho ! ho ! ho ! Oh,
for God s sake hoo! hoo! hoo!
Don t ye tickle ha! ha! ha! Tick-l-e,
tick-l-e me ! Hurrah ! hi ! hi ! hi-i-i !"

" Wot a spektikle for the Free Be
lievers ! Ha, ha ! Jist see the Parson-
wriggle ! Wos there ever sich twistin*
as that ! How black he grows in the
face ! His eyes big as Delawar bay
oysters ha ! ha ! ha ! Come on my
pianey fortey I ll tune yo up !

Yankey doo-del is the tune "

"Ha! ha! ha!" interrupted tho
Parson.

" An* nothin comes so han-dy !
As yankey doo-del doo-del do-oo *

" Hoo ! hoo ! hoo !" roared Parson
Pyne.

" An* yankey doo-del dan-dy ! *

Screamed Devil-Bug, executing a
delicate flourish on the soles of the
Parson s feet.

" Ya-hah-hah," roared the negroes,
holding their sides as they beheld the
Preacher s agony.

Wriggling and twisting along the
bed, Parson Pyne made the most
superhuman efforts to extricate him
self, but in vain. Still the finger tips
of Devil-Bug ran softly, oh how softly
along his feet, still he was forced to
rend the air with unwilling laughter.
Tickle, tickle, tickle ! Ha ! ha ! ha !
His face had now assumed a dark livid
hue, and as his eyes hung out from
their sockets, the white surface of oach
eyeball assumed a fearful prominence.
Tickle, tic-kle, tic-kle ! Ho ! ho ! ho &gt;

PARSON PYNE HAS A GOO I, A UGH TO HIMSELF.

27V

The veins stood out from his forehead
like cords, and his chest heaved and
swelled as though moving under the
impulse of a small steam engine.
Softly moved the finger tips, oh softly,
soft-l-y, sofl-l-y! Tic-k-le, tic-k-1-e,
t-i-c-kle ! Hoo ! hoo ! hoo !

Oh, God ! God ! God !" yelled the
Parson, as the tears rolled down his
livid cheeks. " Mer-cy ! ha ! ha ! ha !
Ho ! ho ! ho ! Hi ! hi ! hi ! Mer-cy !
Ho-o-o ! Ah-a-a-ha-a !"

A wild unearthly shriek burst from
the Parson s lips. Then he blas
phemed the name of his God, then in
voked all the curses of hell upon his
head, and then the white foam frothed
around his lips.

" Do yo give in ?" shouted Devil-
Jug executing a brilliant flourish with
his finger-tips.

" Ho ! Ho ! Ho !" roared the Par-
son. Ye-s! Ye-s ! Hoo! Hoo!
Hoo ! Curses ha ! ha ! ha ! cur
ses ! D n! Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi-i-i!"

" Did nt I tell yo my feller that
ye d better not per woke me ?" calmly
exclaimed Devil-Bug, walking round
the foot of the bed. " Now will you
answer them questi ns ?"

Parson Pyne lay silent and speech
less. Poor fellow ! He looked quite
pit&lt;ful. He lay gasping and panting
fo"- breath, while his livid cheeks and
starting eyes, bore traces of the awful
agony which he had endured. Had
Devil-Bug continued his musical ex
periments a moment longer, the Pa
tent-Gospellers would have lost their
preacher, and the devil gained a soul.
As he lay there, pinioned to the bed,
nis starting eyes glaring vacantly
nround the room, he looked for all the
world like a man who has been pre-

ci ited over some awful hei^hth ;
he lay so silent, so motionless, so ut
terly blank and speechless. Had the
Pope of Pagan Rome have seen his
Foe, he would have pitied him. Ever
the four-and-twenty cardinals would
have wept. The Vatican itself, that
deplorable edifice, would have shed
tears. St. Peter s Church, that object
of Patent-Gospel hate and scorn would
have been convulsed with pity. Alas,
for the Foe of Pagan Rome ! To
think that he, the daring and high-
souled Pyne, who had stood up so
often in his pulpit, arid defied the Pope
and the devil, who had electrified the
old women with his eloquence, and
convulsed whole churches-full of Gos
pellers with his matchless zeal, to
think that he, should have been tick
led into submission !

For ten long and weary minutes
Devil-Bug awaited the recovery of the
Parson. Never was whipped dog
more completely cowed by the lash
than was Parson Pyne by the finger
tips of old Devil-Bug.

" Was you Dick Baltzar, or was
you not ? Answer old porpis !"

" I was," faintly responded the
Parson.

" You rented rooms at the house o
th Widder Crank on Christmas Eve,
Eighteen hundred an twenty-five ?"

" I did."

" The widder Crank had a darter T

She had."

" Her name was "

" Ellen " faintly chirped Parson
Pyne. "I ll tell you all about her.
She had been seduced two years be
fore I came to the Widow Crank s
house. Her seducer, was a young -
merchant named Livingstone. On

280

MABEL.

Chrisl.-nas Eve Eighteen hundred and
twenty four, she gave birth to a female
child. It was called Ellen. A few
days after the child was born, her mo
ther in a fit of rage drove her from the
house. The child remained with the
widow Crank. It seems that Ellen
and Livingstone had quarrelled soon
after the birth of the child ; and the
mother s harshness resulted from her
daughter s confession, that she was
not married to her lover. For one
year no intelligence whatever was
heard from the daughter "

" Ha !" shrieked Devil-Bug. " Are
yo sure o, that ?"

" Why as myself and wife, only
came to the Widow s House a year
after Ellen had disappeared, it s hard
for me to tell !" murmured the Rev.
Dr. Pyne. " I never yet, have been
quite certain, but that Livingstone
knew of the girl s whereabouts all the
while."

Devil-Bug smiled grimly to himself.

"Ho, ho !" he muttered. " Then
I m the only human bein as knows
where Ellen was during her absence
from her mother s home !"

" As I said before I came to the
Widow Crank s house, on Christmas
Eve Eighteen hundred and twenty
five. That very night Ellen Crank
returned home. She was in a very
sad condition you see, and her mother
welcomed her back with tears of joy.
That very night she gave birth to
another child "

Devil -Bug leaned slowly forward,
and applied his mouth to the ear of
the Parson. " And that ere lost child,
died ? he muttered in a whisper
that thrilled the Parson to the heart.

" Livingstone always thought so,
said Dr. Pyne in an evasive tone.

" No lyin Parson ! One child
died that night I know ! Was it the
first or second ?"

" It was the first," answered Dr.
Pyne.

Devil-Bug buried his face in his
hands, and the Parson heard him
groan. The Negroes looked on in
mute astonishment. Their master af
fected by any thing like a human feel
ing ! Ha, ha ! The thought tickled
them, and they chuckled quietly to
gether.

" And the second child Parson,
what ever becom of it ?" said Devil-
Bug looking at the Preacher through
the outspread fingers of his hands.

" I don t know," answered Pyne in
a faint voice.

"You lie!" shrieked Devil-Bug,
" You lie ! You stole that child Par
son, you and your wife trained it up
with the idea-r of havin a hold on
Livingstone, when he came into his
father s property ! Don t I know ye
ye fat dog ?" he rose from his seat
and seized the Parson fiercely by the
throat. " Yer wife died, and you
turned Parson ! H ! Ho ! am I right ?
Tell me quick or I ll choke ye !"

" You are you are !" cried Pyne
as he felt the talon-fingers of the de
formed wretch gathering round his
throat.

Devil-Bug started up with a wild
howl, and rushed madly into the
chamber.

THE SAVAGE ALONE WITH THE MAIDEN.

Sol

CHAPTER ELEVENTH.

THB SAVAGE ALONE WITH THE
MAIDEN.

His teeth grating together, and his
bands outspread, while his eye blazed
with a madman s glare, he rushed
toward the bed, whereon the girl was
sleeping. Mabel started up in affright,
and clasped her hands over her bo
som, as she beheld him approach.

" Oh save me now, my God !" she
shrieked and held her breath in very
terror.

" Come g-a-1, come !" cried Devil-
Bug as gathering his arm around her
waist, he bore her quickly along the
room. " Come, I say come !"

He stopped before an antique mir
ror of circular shape, which depended
from the wainscotted walls. He placed
Mabel on her feet, and rushing from
her side, seized the light from the
small table near the fire. In a mo
ment he stood by her side again, and
as she started backward, in utter hor
ror of his hideous countenance, he
flung the matted hair aside from his
right temple.

" Look gal, look !" he cried point
ing to the reflection of his loathsome
countenance in the mirror. " D ye
see that red mark along my right tem
ple ? That red mark like a snake ?
D ye see it, d ye see it ? That mark
was born with me !"

Mabel gazed upon him with an ex
pression of blank wonder mingled
with terror.

Devil-Bug wound his rough arm
round her neck, and swept her thick
black tresses aside from her right
temple.

" Look, look g-a-1 look !" he shriek-
d as he pointed to the reflection of
her beautiful countenance in the mir
ror. " I don t want you to look at
them black eyes, which are like hers,
nor the lips, nor the cheeks ! But the
right temple g-a-1 the right temple !"

Mabel involuntarily gazed within
the mirror. She started back with a
strange feeling of surprise as she be
held a slight, thin and discolored
streak, marring the beauty of her
face, near the right temple. It was a*
faint and delicate copy of the deep red
mark near the swarthy temple of
Devil-Bug.

"That was born with you g-a-l,
that was born with you g-a-1 !" shout-
ted Devil-Bug. " An you re my
yes yes you re my "

He paused suddenly and fell on his
knees. He placed the light on a chair,
and then looked up into her wondering
face, with his hideous countenance
distorted by a strange emotion.

Then, bending to the very floor, he
clung with his huge hands to the skirt
of her white dress, and impressed his
thick Jips upon the shoe of her tiny
foot. Then big tears stole from the
lids of his blazing eye, and from the
shrivelled socket which was destitute
of an eyeball. Then his lips became
fixedly compressed, and as he raised
his clenched hands he uttered a yell,
like the howl of an enraged hyena.

" Oh, mercy, mercy !" shrieked
Mabel, gazing upon the monster at
her feet in utter alarm.

Devil-Bug seized her fair white
hands and looked up into her face in
silence. It was a strange and fearful
picture. The Savage kneeling at the
feet of I ftnocence !

282

MABEL.

Her form, so delicate and beautiful
in all its rounded proportions of
maidenly loveliness, with the young
bosom, bared to the light and heaving
with animation, her face so pale and
yet so fair to look upon, with the dark
eyes of such unutterable eloquence,
and the long black hair, falling along
the cheeks and down to the shoulders !

His form, so rough and so uncouth,
with its harsh outlines of deformity
and strength, its broad chest quivering
with strange emotion ; his face so
dark, so swarthy and so distorted,
with its protuberant brow, its flat nose,
and wide mouth, its eyeless socket and
its solitary eye, blazing with super
human emotion ! It was a strange
contrast ; the Savage reared in the
very centre of Quaker City civiliza
tion, kneeling at the fair and beautiful
woman, wronged and injured by one
}f the professed Ministers of that
civilization !

" Do not, do not harm me !" cried
Mabel, all other feelings absorbed by
ihe terror which she felt for the strange
being at her feet.

"Harm ye?" growled Devil-Bug,
as he rose from his kneeling position
and forced her gently into a chair.
" Gal, who is it that talks to me of
harmin ye?"

He seated himself on a chair oppo
site the maiden. The light, standing
on another chair, flashed its beams
over the outlines of their faces," so
strangely contrasted to each other.

A wild hope fluttered over the heart
of the maiden, as she beheld some
thing like human feeling in the soli
tary eye of the monster.

" He may aid me to escape from
this house !" she murmured.

" G-a-1, had ye ever a friend?"
And as he spoke he took her fair white
hand within his talon fingers.

" Never !" answered Mabel, as her
heart warmed with a strange sym
pathy for the being before her. " My
father has given me food, and clothes,
and shelter, but I never yet looked
upon the face of a human being wnom
I could call friend ! No mother ever
smiled upon me, and as for my father
oh, for God s sake do not, do not
place me in his power again !"
" The g-a-l s been edicated !" mut
tered Devil-Bug. " You never had a
friend, then? You don t remember
your mother ? I do, g-a-l, I do !"

" You !"

" Yes, g-a-l, I was your mother s
servant, a-good many years ago. I
used to kiss the very ground she stood
upon. Don t mind me, my dear, if
I talk a little wild. I m a poor one-
eyed devil, and nobody cares for me !
But I ll be your friend g-al I, that
never yet was friend to a human bein
save one I will be your friend !"

" You !"

" Yes, gal, me ! I m ugly as the
devil I know it ! But for you, gal,
for you, my heart feels warm ! Ask
me to hold my hand in that fire for
your sake, jist ask me !"

He reached forth his hand toward
the light as if to carry his words into
action, when a spot of thick red blood
crusting the swarthy skin, attracted
the gaze of his solitary eye.

" Ha ! It is her blood," he shouted,
starting from his seat. " The old
woman s blood ! The blood of Ellen s
mother ! Ha ! There she lays with
the red blood droppin from her hoi lei
skull! There there " he pointed

THE FLIGHT FROM MONK-HALL.

fiercely to a vacant spot of the room.
Don t ye see her, gal 1 And here,
gal, here, by my side, his jaw back
and his tongue stickin out, he lays
he, jist as he fell through the trap !"

He rushed wildly toward the door,
as the terrible phantoms, in all their
horror,, broke anew upon his gaze.
-"But I ll beyer friend, g^al !" he
shouted, turning suddenly round. " I,
I, oM Devil-Bug will be your slave !
_ You shall roll in wealth, g-a-1 ! Par
son Pyne ain t yer father not a bit
o it ! Yer father has gold enough to
buy ye a row o houses ! I tell ye,
gal, old Devil-Bug is yer friend ! The
man that tries to injure ye will have
a wild beast to fight that s all !"

He rushed into the next room
where Parson Pyne still lay pinioned
to the sacking bottom of the bed. The
Herculean negroes watched by the
bedside.

* Put on this feller s shoes an*
stockin s an let him clear out !"
shouted Devil-Bug. " And look ye,
Parson Pyne ! it ud be better for you
to crack jokes with a hungry tiger
than to dare touch that gal ag in !
Go home, Parson Pyne, and mind yer
business, and put down the Pope o
Rome ! The g-a-1 shall go to her
father, the rich merchant Livingstone!
Her face is proof enough that she is
Ellen s darter ! And mind ye, Parson
Pyne " he cried, as he stood in the
doorway, his face darkened by a scowl
of rage. " If yo ever lay a finger on
that g-a-1 ag in, I ll have my revenge
on you, if I have to drag you from
yer pulpit! I ll have yer blood if I
, have to spill it in the sacrament cup !"

He closed the door and rushed mad-
y down the stairway of Monk-Hall.

" To the vault, to the vault ! An
let me think these things over ! My
brain feels kind o crazy like, and my
blood biles in my veins ! Ha ! ha !
ha! Old Devil-Bug s darter shall
ride in her carriage, and wear silks
an satins that she shall !"

And as he went down to the vault
of Monk-Hall, his wild and discordant
laughter broke upon the air with a
sound of strange and savage joy.

CHAPTER TWELFTH.

THE FLIGHT FROM MONK-HALL.

THE negroes were alone in the
ante-chamber. Glow-worm stood on
one side of the fire gazing into the
face of his comrade, who leaned
against the mantel on the opposite
side. Musquito grinned hideously as
he caught the gleam of Glow-worm s
eye.

Ha-hah ! Yah-hah !"

" What fo you make dat dam
noise?" asked Glow-worm, with dig
nified severity.

" It am so dam queer, it am !" re
plied the other Insect, with an addi
tional chuckle. " So berry pertikler,
dam queer !"

"Ha-yah! Yah-ha !" chuckled
Glow-worm, as the idea which amused
his comrade stole suddenly over his
mind. "To tink o de pa son bein*
tied to dat ah bed yah-hah !"

" Jis like a sof crab on he back
ha- yah !"

And the delightful gentlemen chuck
led merrily together, and showed their
white teeth, and held their sides undt

284

MABEL.

the walls of the chamber echoed with
their uproarious glee.

The door leading into the hall of
the second story opened suddenly,
and long-haired Bess entered the
chamber. Her large dark eyes flash
ed with a clear and brilliant expres
sion, and her jet-black hair streaming
wildly over her shoulders gave a
strange relief to her deathly counte
nance.

" De Lor Jimminy ! It am de gal !"
muttered Musquito, with an expression
of idiotic surprise.

" Quick, I say, quick !" exclaimed
Bess, approaching the fire-place. " I
want the keys of the house old
Devil-Bug is waitin for em ! Where
are they ? Quick, I say !"

" Dere dey are, missus !" exclaim-
3d Glow-worm, with a mock bow, as
he pointed to the bunch of keys rest
ing on the small table near the light.
What de debbil yo want em foh ?"

Bess seized the keys and rushed
into the adjoining chamber where Ma
bel was imprisoned.

" I say, nigga, what all dis mean?"
exclaimed Glow-worm, gazing in
Musquito s face.

" I spect dar s some fuss down
sta rs !" responded the other negro.

As he spoke, Bess re-entered the
room with the form of Mabel, sup
ported by the embrace of her right
arm, while the pale face of the young
girl, lit by her large and lustrious
eyes of midnight blackness, wore an
absent and bewildered expression.

* Come, this way, this way," whis
pered Bess, moving toward the door
which led out into the hall. " This
way and you shall be saved !"

" What foh vou do dat foh ?" mut

tered Glow-worm, hercely, as he
turned toward Long-haired Bess with
a threatening look.

" Hush, h-u-s-h !" whispered Bess,
as she glanced meaningly at the half-
conscious face of the girl who hung
on her arm. " You see, Glow-worm,
there s a rumpus kicked up down
stairs, and Devil-Bug wants to have
the gal removed to the Tower Room
Open the door quick, and let me hurrj
up stairs with her. You are so stupid
Glow-worm quick, I say !"

The look which animated the face
of Long-haired Bess, dispelled all the
doubts which the negro had entertain
ed. With a mechanical gesture h*
flung open the door.

" Now, Glow-worm, close it aftei
me " she said, gazing in his hideous
face, while her tone was that of a con
fidential whisper. " And if anybody
should come up here and ask after
the gal, you must swear that she was
never in the house."

" Yes, missus."

" Ha, ha, ha ! We know how to
manage these things don t we, Glow-
worm ?" laughed Bess, as, standing in
the doorway, she gathered her arm
more closely around the waist of the
girl who lay half-fainting, in her em
brace. " It takes us, don t it, Mus
quito ?"

" It jist does dat !" chuckled the
negro, and Glow-worm, joining in his
laugh, carefully closed the door.

Bess stood in the darkness of the
hall. A smile of triumph flashed over
her proud face. She felt the heart of
the girl, throbbing against the hand
that held her form to her side.

"The plot of the Parson and nia
tool shall be scattered to the winds 1

THE FLI3HT FROM MONK-HALL.

283

. will save the wronged girl, save her
from the hands of her priestly father !
This way fair girl, and we will escape
together!"

" Whither are you leading me?"
murm jred Mabel in a bewildered tone.
" Oh save me from my father ! Do
with me what you will, but do not hurry
me to his roof again ! I will work my
fingers to the bone, beg in the streets,
or starve, but oh ! Do not place me
in his power again !"

Bess silently led the way down the
stairs. Crouching on the steps, about
half-way down, was the form of a
woman, attired in floating robes of
white.

* " Mary arise ; we will escape !" ex
claimed Bess in a whisper. " Take
my arm, and cling to me with all your
strength : we will escape from Monk-
Hall !"

The fair girl rose in the darkness,
and clung to the arm of the fallen
woman. No word escaped her lips ;
no sigh heaved her bosom ; she was
silent as the grave.

" Ha ! I hear the sound of his foot
steps on the lower stairs !" muttered
Bess. * He is ascending from the
vault of Monk-Hall. Now help me
heaven ! If he bears a light with him
we are lost ! Another moment and all
will be discovered."

She pressed her hand madly to her
forehead, but in a moment an exclama
tion of joy burst from her lips.

" Stand close against the wall on
this side of the stairway ; I will \ove
your form with this cloak ?"

They crouched against the wall, a
the sound of Devil-Bug s footsteps were
heard on the floor of the hall below
Seizing the cloak, which she had lei

vith Mary, while leading Mabel from
he chamber above, she flung it over
heir figures, and stood erect against
ts folds, her dark dress, shrouding
ler form from view. The sound of
Devil-Bug s footsteps were heard on the
irst step of the stair-case. There was
&gt;arely room for him to pass, between
he form of Bess and the banisters op-
&gt;osite. He ascended the stairs. Step
y step, he ascended, his hard breath-
ng breaking on the still air like the
&gt;anting of a wild beast about to spring
at the traveller s throat in the darkness
)f some hideous ravine. The heart of
3ess fluttered in her throat. Another
tep, and he would be at her side. She
leld her breath. His foot was on the
step where she stood shielding the
brms of the girls from view. The
ight from the distant roof fell dimly
over his hideous face and form, while
he side of the stair-way next to the
wall was enveloped in thick darkness.
Bess beheld him turn his coarse gar
ments rustled against her dress. She
placed her hand against her mouth to
smother the shriek which arose to her
ips. The solitary eye of Devil-Bug
Deered into the darkness with a fixed
glare. Bess silently grasped the mas
sive key of the front door in her right
hand, and separated it from the ring
which confined the bunch of keys. In
the action the keys jingled together.
Devil-bug started. Bess raised the
massive key in her hand it was her
determination to crush his skull with
its weight, if he laid his hand upon her.
Her lips were compressed, and he"
bosom for the moment, was motionless
as marble.

" My heart s full of all sorts o queer
tantrums" muttered Devil-Bug. t4 I

286

MABEL.

just now thought I heered some
body breathin on the stairs, and
now I thought I heered my keys a
jinglin together! Wot a rediculus
fool I am to be sure !"

He pursued his way, he passed the
form of Bess, and the sound of his
footsteps presently echoed from the
stairs above.

Bess breathed freely again. A wild
feeling of joy fluttered round her heart :
She seized the trembling girls, one in
each arm, nerved for the effort by a
hallowed hope that now began to
brighten over her soul, she gathered a
fair form in each arm, and hurried
down the stairs.

" The key, the key !" she shouted
in a wild delirium of joy. " A moment
longer and we are saved. A moment
and we escape from Monk-Hall !"

Meanwhile Devil-Bug ascending the
stairs, stood before the door of Monk
Baltzar s ante-chamber.

" I ll see the gal once agin," he
muttered. " I ll look on her purty
face agin ; she shall roll in gold ; she
jhall ! Old Devil-Bug s darter shall
^avc the money ha, ha, ha! Sich
lots o money !"

He entered the ante-chamber, and
passed along without heeding Glow
worm and Musqueto who stood by the
fire. Gently unclosing the door of the
next apartment, he stepped within the
chamber where he had left the girl.
He closed the door and advanced
toward the light.

" She s a-sleepin on that bed, the
darter of Ellen !" he muttered folding
his arms. " Many and many s the
night I ve laid at Ellen s door, watchin
her while she slept, and keepin her
from harm. There was nt never a

human bein as did nt cuss me, except
one, except one ! That was her
Ellen the gal whom I d ave died for !
And this is her darter ha, ha, ha !
And she shall ride in her carriage, and
have goold pieces, thick as flies in a
molasses jug."

He advanced a step nearer to the
bed, his head inclined to one side, as
if in the act of listening. He listened
for the low, soft sound of a woman
breathing in her sleep.

" She sleeps wery softly !" muttered
Devil-Bug. "An I ll go to Living
stone, an I ll tell him the story, and
I ll tear that Parson s heart from his
carcase, if he dares say that she ain t
the merchant s darter ! I hate and cuss
the whole world ; the whole world hates
and cusses me but the g-a-l ! I ll
skulk along the street, and see her
ridin in her carriage ; I ll watch in the
cold winter nights and see her all
shinin with goold and jewels as she
goes into the theatre, with the big
folks round her, and the rich mer
chant by her side. !? f

He drew a step nearer the bed.

" And then I ll skulk down into the
pit, and hide my head, but keep a look
out on her with my one eye. When I
sees the folks makin much of her the
jewels shinin on her dress, the brace
lets round her wrists and the goold
band around her white brow, then I ll
stick my face in my hands an laff!
Ho, ho; ho. There, I ll cry to my
selfthere is old Devil-Bug s darter
among the grandees o the Quaker
City !"

He drooped his head on his breast,
while his eye blazed, and his thick
lips parted in a grotesque grin.

In a moment, however, a strange

THE FLIGHT FROM MONK-HALL.

mood of thought seemed to pass over
the distorted intellect of this monster.

He stood with his head drooped low
on his wide chest, while his hands
hung extended by his side. Hb soli
tary eye, which contracted and dilated
ike the eye of a tiger, grew large and
lustrous. His teeth were clenched,
while bis thick HDS receded in a con
vulsive grimace. He stood motionless
as the aged walls of that old house,
of whose wide rooms and dreary
vaults he seemed the living soul. ^

In that moment of silence what a
world of thought passed over the soul
of the monster !

First came a vision of the fair wo
man, who had loved him. Loved the
outcast of mankind, the devil in human
shape ! Could you have seen Devil-
Bug s soul at the moment it was agi
tated by this memory, you wouid
have started at the contrast, which it
presented in comparison with his de
formed body. For a moment the soul
of Devil-Bug was beautiful.

Then the scorn of the world crowd
ed upon his soul. His ignominious
birth, his lonely life, the hatred was
felt for him, and the loathing which
he felt for man, his distorted face and
deformed body. Like a black cloud
it gathered upon him. Had Devil-
Bug s soul assumed a tangible shape,
his body in comparison, would have
grown beautiful. It was terrible to
note the malice of his soul flashing
from his eye and trembling on his

HP.

Then came one wild and wandering
thought. It darted over the chaos of
his mind like the long and trembling
ray of a star that shines but for an in
stant and then is dark forever. It was
19

aiJ

a thought, brief it is true, wild
wandering, yet mighty in its v4ry
brevity of existence, and most glorious
in its wandering shape, it was| a
thought of God. Devil-Bug for a rrjo-
ment felt the existence of a God. F^or
a moment he felt that he had a Fathpr
in the Universe, He imagined 4 n
awful being, with a face of unutterable
beauty, an awful being looking fortfi
from a vast immensity of clouds and
darkness, while a frown broke ove|
his eternal brow. Devil-Bug felt thalj
this being was his Father. He feltj
that he, Devil-Bug the outcast of earth,
the incarnate outlaw of hell, had one
friend in the wide universe ; that friend
his Creator. He felt in every fibre
of his deformed soul that the eyes of
the awful being were fixed upon him
in terrible reproof, yet with a gleam
of mercy breaking from their eternal
lustre.

This thought was but for a moment.
Like a flash of light it came, like a
shadow it passed away.

Then, slowly and terribly, thore
came gliding to his side, the phantoms
of the murdered man and woman.
The man with the body distorted by
death, the knees drawn up to the chest,
the jaw broken and the tongue lolling
out; the woman, with the blood oozing,
drop by drop, from the hollow skull,
while the fragment of the face, clung
by the quivering neck, to the shattered
and mangled body. Devil-Bug could
see the old woman s flesh quiver; he
could hear the sound of the dropping

Drop!
drop !

blood. Drop ! Then a pause.
Another pause. Drop, drop,

How red it grows as it curdles over
the hard bricks of the fire plac^ ! He
could see the blood-shot eyes ol the

MABEL.

man moving slowly to and fro; ihen
the tongue blackened, and then Ugh !
That low-toned yet terrible moan !

" They are with me !" muttered
Devil-Bug, wiping the cold sweat from
his brow. " With me forever ! But
I don t see that man Haiwey. I don t
see his corpse. Ugh ! there he is
now, layin 1 beside the grave, his body
straightened out and his eyes glaring
upward like bits of glass in the sun
shine ! He moves ugh ! He rises
or! bis feet, he makes toward me !
Ugh ! Back I say you re dead, yo
devil, and yo can t frighten me !"

This was uttered in a low whisper
that would have thrilled a man s blood
to hear. His right arm extended
while the cold sweat trickled from his
brow, Devil-Bug stood immoveable as
a rock, while he regarded the phantom
with a fixed and glassy eye.

" Back yo devil you re dead
ugh ! Back I say yo can t frighten
me!"

In a moment the fit subsided, and
Devil-Bug gazed around with a wild
shriek of laughter.

"Them things iswerry delightful!"
he observed, with his usual grin.
" They quite refreshes a feller."

He approached the bed, and his
mood changed. His child, lay sleep
ing there; his child! The darkness,
which shrouded the corners of the
chamber, lay thick around her couch,
but she was there ! His heart beat
with a strange feeling of joy as he
approached the bedside, and from his
heart through every vein that strange
joy darted like lightning.

He extended his hand, he passed it
over the bed-clothes. A shudder ran
tver his framt. Again he extended

his hand, again passed it nervously
over the white coverlid. He started
backward with a cry of horror.

He stood for a moment silent and
immoveable. Then running from one
corner of the room to another, he
shrieked the name of Ellen, again and
yet again, while the muscles of his
face, worked as with a death-spasm.

" Ellen," he shrieked, in his frenzy
confounding the mother with the child.
" Where have they tuk yo ? Ellen-
did I not watch yo in the winter
nights? Did I not fight for yo ? Say,
Nell, was there ever sich a sarvant as
old Devil-Bug? Nell Nell ! Answer
me Nelly ; don t play possum with
Devil-Bug I know you re hid some
where ; I know it ! You d not leave
me. Nell !"

Again he shrieked that name. He
listened for a moment no answer
came to his call. He rushed hurriedly
into the ante-chamber ; he seized the
negro, Musquito, by the throat with a
giant s grasp.

" Tell me, yo scoundrel, where
did yo take that gal ?"

" Massa" replied the negro, speak
ing with difficulty as the talon fingers
encircled his throat. " Missus Bess
took de keys and de gal dat s
all, Massa."

" Nigger, I ll have you roasted
alive !" shrieked Devil-Bug, with an
ominous scowl of anger. "Bess took
the gal and the keys, did she ? Nig
gers, I ll tell you what it is, if that
gal escapes, I ll have your black flesh
torn off with hot pincers I ll "

He rushed through the doorway,
and was heard descending the stairs.

Meanwhile, with the fair form of a

THE FLIGHT FB

MONK-HALL.

289

irembling woman on each arm, Bess
pursued her way down stairs, and in
a few moments stood at the small door
Df the Doorkeeper s fireroom It hung
slightly ajar. Bess gazed through the
crevice, and to her utter horror, be
held two persons standing near the
fire. She looked again, and recog
nized the portly form of the fat Parson
and the well-built figure of Fitz-
Cowles. They were chatting plea
santly together.

" A fine girl you say, Parson ? Ha,
ha ! You re a sly rogue, you are !
Where is she now ?"

" Don t speak so loud, Fitz. She s
up stairs a lovely girl, with a soft
form and red lips ! Ah !"

Bess could hear the Parson smack
his thick lips together, with holy
fervor.

" Take care Parson, or I ll cut you
out ! I ll buy off old Devil-Bug and
have the beauty all to myself. I
f u iaow you preachers are awful sly
with the women ; and the pulpit is
rather celebrated for its taste in that
ime. My curiosity is excited, Parson
I should like to see the girl "

" Ah-ha ! Should you ? I ve had
a good deal of trouble in trapping the
beauty she shan t pass out of my
hands for nothing, I assure you."

There was a pause for a few mi
nutes. Fitz-Cowles and the Parson
whispered together,

Bess looked through the crevice,
while the girls hung trembling on her
arms, and beheld the good Parson in
the act of rattling a dice-box, which
Devil -Bug had left on the mantle.

"Ha. ha! The hundred dollars
ire mine!" chuckled the Parson.

Bess beheld Fitz-Cowles take up the

dice, and rattling them for a moment
in the box, fling them out upon the
surface of the mantlepiece.

" And the girl is mine !" exclaimed
Fitz-Cowles, with a look of triumph.
" Our agreement was that the one who
had the highest throw should take the
money ; the other should have the
woman ! Being a Parson, you of
course had more luck with the dice
than one of the laity like myself; I
am content with the girl. Where is
she?"

" Up stairs. My room you know ?"
and the Parson waved his hand to
ward the door.

Fitz-Cowles moved from the fire
place. In a moment the door would be
flung open, and Bess, with her com
panions be discovered.

* Now is my time !" muttered Bess.
" Girls, stay here for a single moment,
and I ll save you !" She placed them
in the darkness, one on either side of
the doorway.

" The house is on fire!" she shriek
ed, as with her dark hair flung wild
ly over her shoulders, she rushed
through the doorway and confront
ed the astonished Parson and the
Millionaire. " Save yourselves while
it is in your power ! The house is in
flames away, away !"

She rushed toward the front door
while they stood utterly confounded,
near the fireplace. In a mcment the
key was in the lock, in another instant
the door was flung wide open.

" Save yourselves !" shouted Bess,
elevating her voice to an unnatural
pitch. " The house is on fire delay
another moment and you are lost "

" Shall we move, Fitz ?"

" I guess we d better, Parson !"

890

MABEL.

The words had scarcely passed his
dps when the folds of white garments
fluttered before his eyes, and two fe
male forms, rushing from the doorway
of the hall, bounded along the floor
with one convulsive spring like that
of the doe when environed by hunters.
Mabel, herself all terror, supported
the quivering form of Mary. In an
instant they passed the form of Bess,
as with the key in her hand, she held
the front door wide open.

" Now girls," she shrieked. "Cling
to my arms, and we may escape !"

With a fair girl clinging to each
arm, she darted from the doorway,
and was lost to view.

" It s the very girl the one in the
white dress its Mabel !" exclaimed
Parson Pyne.

" Yes, but there were two in white
dresses " interrupted Fitz-Cowles.

" The one with long dark hair, and
jet-black eyes ; that was Mabel !" cried
Parson Pyne, moving toward the door.

" Ha ! Say you so ! I d peril a cool
thousand to win her. Let s give chase.
That alarm of fire was all a sham."

They moved to the door, and looked
out upon the night. At a short dis
tance down the narrow street, the white
garments of Mary and Mabel waved
in the light of the moon.

" I ll pursue them !" shouted Fitz-
Cowles, darting down the street.

"And I ll run this way, and head
them off, at the next street !" cried
the Parson, moving briskly along the
alley in an opposite direction. "Ten
chances to one, they take the alley,
which winds round and round like a boa
constrictor, and at last strikes into the
street, about a hundred yards ahead !
Ha, ha ! I can walk quietly along and

head them c /F. Should dear little Ma-

bel get into my hand s again ah-

ha !"

The Parson pursued his way alon^
the street, chuckling gaily to him
self. And at the very moment that
Fitz-Cowles pursued the wanderers in
one direction, while the Parson endea
voured to intercept them in another,
the form of Devil-Bug appeared in the
broad door-way of Monk-Hall.

" Ho, ho !" he cried, looking west-
wardly down the narrow street. "There
they go, with a feller chasin em !
There s Bess curse her ! There s Lor-
rimer s gal, and there s Nell! Ha! They
strike into the alley, which instead of
going straight ahead like a reglar
Phil delphy alley, winds round the
yard of Monk-Hall, and comes into the
street agin about a hundred yards
ahead. Ho, ho ! I have it ! I have it !
I ll just climb the fence of the yard, and
drop down into the alley back of Monk-
Hall ! The gal s will come trampin
down the alley for dear life they ll
see a black lump on the ground they ll
rush on thinkin it a stone, but that
black lump will rise on its feet and it
will stretch out its arms and grasp em.
Old Devil-Bug will have the child, his
darter agin !"

He disappeared within the door of
Monk-Hall.

&lt; The moon rose above the house
tops. Monk-Hall gleamed in the sil
very light like a goblin mansion. Each
peak of the roof, each fantastic chim
ney, the massive tower and the front
of black and red brick intermingled in
strange contrast, were disclosed by the
light of the rising moon, floating so
soft and mellow from the expanse of
the fathomless winter sky.

THL FLIGHT FROM MONK-HALL.

291

Meanwhile along the narrow street,
each arm supporting the form of a half-
ainting girl, Bes-s pursued her wa) r ,
her heart filled with one fixed pur
pose, and her very soul nerved for the
effort. The sound of footsteps struck
upon her ear, She turned her head
over her shoulder, and beheld Fitz-
Cowles at the distance of some fifty
yards. His conical hat and gold-
headed cane were directly perceptible
in the moonlight. But one course re
mained for Bess. She must strike into
the narrow alley or be overtaken.

Gathering the arms of the girls more
firmly within her own, Bess whispered
a word of encouragement in their ears
and darted around. The three forms
were lost to view in the winding alley.

r Gad ! I ll have them yet!" shouted
Fitz-Cowles, gaining the corner of the
alley, and gazing intently upon the
figures of the wanderers. " That face
and those eyes are not so easily for
gotten ! Gad I ll have them yet !"

Bess turned her head over her
shoulder she saw the pursuer gaining
upon her at every step.

" On Mary," she whispered. &lt; On
Mabel !" for by some strange means
he had gained the name of the strange
maiden. " You are running from
death, and worse than death !"
* Her words infused a new life into
the heart of Mabel ; poor Mary, too,
felt a strange energy darting through
her veins.

Not a word more was said, but on
and onward they dashed. Over the
rough stones, through the puddles of
miry water, beneath the shadow of the
thickly clustered houses, on and on
ward %, race for maiden purity, a
race for womap s honor !

At every step Fitz-Cowles gained
upon the wanderers. His shout of
laughing derision burst upon their ears;
the echo of his footsteps smote their
hearts like a death-knell.

" Ha, ha P he laughed. "My black-
eyed damsel. I ll have you, by Jove,
I ll have you yet !"

Bess reached a point of the winding
alley, where the thickly-clustered
houses, were superseded on one side,
by a high board fence. Over the
lence, dark indistinct and gloomy, was
seen the roof of Monk-Hall, with the
tower rising in the moon-beams.

As Bess reached the fence, Fitz-
Cowles was within ten paces of her
side. Nothing could save her now.
Panting for breath, the girls clung
tremblingly to her arms ; their weight
began to drag her down ; her strength
gave tokens of exhaustion.

Fitz-Cowles uttered a shout of tri
umph and sprang forward to grasp his
victim, He did not heed the dark
lump which like a blackened rock,
uprose from the very centre of the
pathway. The girls rushed past the
blackened mass. Fitz-Cowles sprang
forward to grasp them, laughing gaily
in the action, when a wild yell broke
on the air, mingling with his cheerful
laugh, the black mass at his feet as
sumed the shape and form of the mon
ster, and Devil-Bug confronted the
Millionaire.

" Ho, ho, my teller. I ve got y[&gt;
have I ?" he shrieked with a blazing
eye. " What in the devil d ye mean
by chasin that gal ?"

"Stand back or I ll cleave your
skull with my cane ! Stand back fel
low you re in my pay, and I ll
tise you for this insolence !"

292

MA5EL.

And Fitz-Cowles brandished his
gold-headed cane in the light of the
moon. " You ll chastise me, will ye?"
shouted Devil-Bug. "There never
yet was a man as felt the weight o
this arm and lived afterwards !"

He sprang upon Fitz-Cowles with a
yell. *They clenched together, they
fell in the mire of the gutter, and
fought like dogs, the Savage and the
Millionaire !

Onward with faint and weary steps,
the wanderers held their way. They
reached the termination of the winding
alley, where it emerged upon the nar
row street, a hundred yards distant
from Monk-Hall. Panting for breath
and trembling in every tired limb Ma
bel clung nervously to the arm of Bess,

hile Mary, her senses whirling in
strange, confusion flung the weight
of her quivering form full upon the
shoulder of the dark-eyed woman.

" Ha ! There is a man standing at
the corner of the street we are watch
ed !" Bess exclaimed in a whisper.
" Courage, Mabel, courage Mary, you
shall not be dragged to Monk-Hall
again while Bess has a firm soul or a
resolute arm !"

"It is my father!" whispered Mabel,
trembling in every limb.

" Yes, yes, my pretty Mabel ! It is
your father !" cried the portly Parson,
advancing from the shadows of the
street. " Come here with me, and I ll
overlook your recent misconduct ; come
home my dear!"

He approached the trembling girl.
She clung to the arm of Bess with the
energy of despair. Bess suddenly
flung the maiden aside, and raised her
irm on high. Each sinew was braced
for a desperate effort, and the tiny fin

gers of her hand grasped the massive
key of Monk-Hall.

" Oh do not cast me from you,"
shrieked Mabel.

" Come to your pa-pa, my dear,"
exclaimed Parson Pyne, reaching forth
his hand to grasp the form of Mabel.
* Her eyes flashing fire, Bess sprang
forward, and struck the Parson on the
forehead with the massive iron key.
The blow was as sudden as it was un
expected : he reeled to one side and
fell upon flie pavement like a dead
man.

" Now, girls, cling to my arms yet
once again. Ere ar hour passes over
my head, I will placo you in a quie
refuge, where no wrong can assail
you, no dark passion mar your
peace !"

" Any where Bessie, to the lowest
hovel, to the abode of rags and misery
and want, but for God s sake not to that
home the home which I left only last
night for the mansion of Lorraine. I
have had my dream, Bessie God
alone knows how terrible has been the
awakening from that dream !"

As Mary spoke, her voice grew
tremulous and Bess turned her face
away from the gaze of the ruined girl.
That wan countenance, those eyes of
liquid blue dilating with a frenzied
glare the vision blasted the very
eyesight of Long-haired Bess.

Mabel clung to the arm of the tall
woman, and in a whisper besought hei
to fly from the spot.

" Let us away," she cried. " My
father " and she pointed to the portly
form whjch cumbered the roadside.
" I fear him worse than the grave/

Bess silently gathered the arms of
each girl within her ownj and then at

THE FLIGHT FROM MONK-HALL.

293

fthe moon shone upon the wan yet
beaming face with blue eyes and
gol jen hair, on one side, and the pale
countenance with dark eyes and mid
night tresses, on the other, she raised
her gaze to the moonlit heavens above,
and for the moment her dark orbs
grew lustrous with a strange eloquence.
At that moment, as standing at the
corner of the gloomy street, with a
ruined girl on one side a wronged
maiden on the other, her face, once so
beautiful, and now lovely to look upon
in its very ruins, was imbued with an
expression holy as that which mantles
over the face of the dying mother
when blessing her first born child.
/ Up to the throne of the pure and
4f merciful God, from the heart of the
Courtezan there ascended a vow, a
holy vow ! She was degraded, steep
ed to the very lips in pollution, canker
ed to the heart with loathsome vice,
yet at that moment, she was a holy
thing in the sight of the angels, for
before the altar of Almighty God, she
swore to protect the ruined Mary to
the death, she vowed to guard the
stainless Mabel from the shadow of a
wrong. And the vow went up to God,
and the moon, rising higher over the
roof-tops, seemed to shed a more

w kindly light as if to crown that vow

with an omen of success.

* And the Three Sisters, the Fallen,
Betrayed and the Innocent, wan
dered forth, a ong the streets, on their

|. * gloomy way.

the old State House
clock, one. There is a wild music in
the sound of that old bell. It rings
like the voice of a warning spirit,
when heard in the silence of night.

How many have heard it in the dead
hour of night, ere they laid down to
die ? The suicide, wan faced and heart
broken, has paused on the edge of the
Delaware, as the sound of that bell
has for a moment, called him back
to life. The poor mechanic, starving
in his desolate home, has raised his
head for the last time, as the old bell
struck one upon his freezing ear, and
then moaned and clutched the air and
died. The Bank Director revelling
at the sight of his gold, won from the
poor by fraud to. which a pirate s
crimes are acts of benevolence ; the
jolly Bank Director counting over his
sweat-wrung gold at the solemn hour
of the night, has been aroused from
his reveries by that awful sound, dim,
booming and knell -like the State
House clock^ tolling ONE. Woman,
fair, and young, and beautiful, sinking
into the arms of shame, has started
from the polluted couch as that sound
broke on her ears, now fast-sealed to
all the warnings of conscience. She
has started, and thought of the voice
of her grey-haired father, she haa
started and wept !

ONE!

The young author, with his sallow
cheeks, lighted by the glare of a
dickering lamp, and his threadbare
coat, fluttering in rags on his wasted
form ; the young author sitting at his
desk at the lone hour of night, while
be wrestles with all the world for
fame and fortune, his only weapon a
rusted pen, hears that State House

l God bless it for its memories!
striking the hour of ONE, and rising
from his task*he beholds his success
tainted on the very darkness which
Beclouds his pa^h. Already he be-

.&lt;

.- v

294

MAREL.

holds the world at his feet, already
the bloodhounds of calumniation and
persecution, lie gasping in their last
agonies, while his foot is on their
necks. Huzza for the old State House
bell, and above all other hours, huzza
for the hour of ONE.

ONE!

The minister of justice, bending
over the table, on whose surface the
hard gold is flung ringing down by
the hands of the wealthy citizen who
sits smiling opposite; the hard gold
which buys the life of some wealthy
murderer from the gallows, or the
liberty of some gilded robber from the
jail, this honest minister of justice,
starts and trembles as he hears the
State House bell strike ONE !
P* That dull and booming sound seems
to call into life the vengeance of the
People, which shall one day hurl the
lordly minister of the law from his
proud position ; already he beholds
written on the vralls of his chamber,
in letters of flame, that blacl^ and
staring word " CORKUPTION."J

Huzza for the hour of ONE.

That sound, speaking from the
heighths of Independence Hall, strikes
ever the Quaker City like the voice
of God s Judgment, rousing crime
from its task, mirth from its wine-cup,
murder from its knife, bribery from
its gold.

Huzza for the old State House bell,
and above all other hours huzza for
the hour of one.

Two figures were slowly wending
their way along a well-known street
ir. the District of Southwark.

" Curse the huzzy. Just look at

my forehead ! The marks o that
key will disfigure me for life."

" It doesn t improve your forehead
much that s a fact, Parson. But you
should have seen the keelhauling that
monster gave me ! Egad, there isn t
a bone in my body that doesn t ache!"

" How did you get off from old
Devil-Bug? Eh, Fitz?"

" Palavered the old scoundrel.
Made believe that I was a-going to
protect the girl and all that. Deuced
singular he should take such an in
terest in her ain t it?"

" Quite unaccountable, as we say
in the pulpit, when the morning col
lection is rather sraall. However,
Fitz, Pye._sold the girl to you for one
hundred dollars, and you shall have
her."

"When, for instance?"

" By to-morrow at noon !"

" Say you so, my Parson ! Place
this girl in my possession by to-mor
row noon, and another hundred shall
be yours !"

" Give me your hand on that Fitz.
There my boy it shall be done ! Now
Mabel my pretty chit" he muttered
to himself while his rubicund face was
purple with hate ; " we ll see who
places the character of the reverend
Pastor of a loving flock in jeopardy :
we ll see who gets old monsters to
defend them the huzzy !"

" What a comfort it is," soliloquized
Fitz-Cowles, " what a comfort it is
to think, that the hundred dollar note
which I gave the Parson was on a
Sand Bank. ^i

"Ha! Fitz. Look yonder there
they go the three beauties. Let s
give chase !"

THE FLIGHT FROM MONK-HALL.

891

" Agreed ! Now for another race
a moment and we ll have them !"

In the distance, at the corner of the
next street, the while garments of Ma
bel and Mary, with the dark robes of
Bess fluttering between the two young
forms, waved for a moment in the
moonlight. In another moment the
portly Pyne and the well-formed mil
lionaire gave chase ; in a moment the
three women turned the corner of the
next street. It required but a few
seconds for Pyne and Fitz-Cowles to
gain the corner of the street. They
looked up and down the street the
women had disappeared. The moon
was shining brightly in the heavens,
and its beams illumined the long street,
which like all Philadelphia streets was
laid out with all the matter-of-fact
straightness of a ten-pin alley.

" Where could they have disap
peared !" muttered Pyne, " there is no
alley between this street and the next,
and I see no signs of any other hiding
place. They must have gone into
some o these houses."

" Egad ! where will you find a house
open at this hoar 1 They must have
sunk down plump into the bricks of
the pavement."

" Ha ! Here is the widow Smolby s
house. Ten to one they went in this
door wait a moment, I ll knock."

Accordingly, the Reverend Doctor
Pyne knocked at the door of the widow
Smolby s ancient mansion. In a few
moments the door receded about the
width cf an inch, and the glare of a
light flashed out upcn the side-walk,

" Is the widow Smolby in ?" asked
the pious Dr. Pyne, assuming his bland
est tone.

hat 11 answer" answered a rough
voice from the crevice of the door.
" Her corpse ?"

" I spose you don t know that the
widder was took bad with an attack of
murder and thieves this arternoon t
The crowner sot upon her, which con-
siderin* as he s a wery fat man, was
rayther an ungenteel thing for him to
do."

" You did not see any thing of three
young ladies in these parts, did you ?"
asked the zealous Dr. Pyne, in hi-s
most unctuous voice.

" Now wot a precious question that
is, to wake a man up in the middle o
th night for ! Make a pin-cushion of ..
me somebody, and hang me up agin
the wall for all the old ladies to stick
pins in, but if I ain t got a notion to
come out there old porpis !"

With these words, the gentleman on
the inside, being in somewhat of an
angry mood, violently closed the door,
using a familiar synonym for condem
nation with some considerable empha
sis.

" How much his voice sounds like
that of Major Mulhill !" muttered Fitz
Cowles.

" The gal is in this house ; I ve not
a doubt of it!" blandly remarked thx
Foe of Pagan Rome.

"I ll tell you what it is Monk Baltzar,
I feel interested in this girl. Her dark
eyes have made a decided impression
on me. I never yet fancied a woman
that I did not win, and so if you ll by
some means or other, I don t care how&gt;
secure this girl for me by to-morrow
at noon, another hundred shal 1 b*
yours !"

** I l 1 manage it ; trust me with the

Not e zactly, but her corpse is, if i affair Fitz. You must know I ve some

296

MABEL.

small spite against this girl, and by to
morrow at noon this petticoat shall be
in your power. By-the-bye, what s
that object m the gutter yonder ?"

" Nothing but a drunken man.
Come Parson, let s stroll down the
street, and arrange matters."

And as they strolled clown the street
talking earnestly together, the dark
object in the gutter moved to and fro,
and in a moment it resolved itself into
the outlines of a man s figure. The
Moon shone over a wan and ghastly
face with glassy eyes, glaring fixedly
on the blue heavens above. Around
that face fell thick locks of jet black
hair, all matted with the mire of the
gutter and soiled with the dust of the
street. And the man crawled slowly
along the hard stones of the street, and
then as if unable to move from weak
ness, he raised his face faintly in the
light of the moon and looked upon the
heavens and uttered a low cry. Then
his head dropped upon the stones of
the street, and he lay like a dead man.

The heart of Bess thrilled with des
pair when, after all her wanderings,
nil her efforts to escape from Monk-
Hall, she heard the triumphant cry
of the Parson and the Millionaire, as
they again pursued her.

Dragging the exhausted girls with
her, she rushed forward, but the
strength of the three soon failed, and
she was about to sink down with des
pair when Mabel uttered an exclama
tion of surprise.

" This is the widow Smolby s house
from which my father dragged me
twelve hours ago!" exlaimed Mabel,
as she beheld the gloomy walls of the
old house rising in the moonbeams.

" The widow Smolby !" muttered
Bess, as though some strange memory
had flashed over her brain. " Ha !
We may obtain shelter here I ll
make the attempt at all events !"

She knocked at the door. It re
ceded slightly, and a rough voice from
within demanded her errand.

" Ha ! Larkspur !" she exclaimed,
" Is that you ? Long-haired Bess
asks you to give her shelter for the
night she has some important facts
to disclose with regard to the late
murder."

" Why, Bess, my duck, is that
you ?" cried Easy Larkspur, opening
the door. " Two young ladies with
you oh, ho ! Up to some new caper,
I spose ! Come in, my dear !"

For the first time a wild suspicion
darted over the brain of Mary Arling
tion, that Bess was a courtezan, that
she had been betrayed through hei
means That thought, so wild and
vague and yet so terrible, smote poor
Mary to the soul. The familiar man
ner with which a rough looking gen
tleman like Easy Larkspur, greeted
Bessie, first aroused this suspicion in
the mind of Mary.

" Walk in ladies : walk in ! You
see I was jist enjoyin a glass of
whiskey punch by the fire, with a
prime Hawanner! And whiskey
punch, ladies, as you may have had
occasion to know, is a werry good
drink, an goes down quite e-a-sy !
Ladies, I d always adwise yo to marry
a gentleman, as knows how to make
good whiskey punch, but you must be
keerful he don t make it too weak.
Weak punch " contiued the red-
faced gentleman, with an anti-total -ab
stinence smile " Weak punch, in my

THE FLIGHT FROM MONK-HALL

opinion, is the most despisable thing
as is !"

" LaiKspur, I have one word to say
lo you. From an accomplice of the
murderer I have gained some know
ledge of the murder committed in this
house yesterday afternoon. This
knowledge I will place in your keep
ing on one consideration. Give these
ladies and myself shelter for the
night; this is all I ask of you."

" Why you see, Bessie, I was ap-
p inted, after the crowner s inquest had
sot upon the old lady, to stay here all
night, in case the thieves might take a
notion to repeat their wisit. My fel
lers is a-sleepin in the back room.
You wouldn t like to try a leetle of
this punch, would yo ? You may
stay here all night ; no doubt o that !
But as all the other rooms was locked
up by the Ma or, you ll have to sleep
in the room where the corpse is "

" Oh, heaven !" whispered Mabel
"Is the old lady dead?" And her
dark eyes grew lustrous with fear and

f awe.

H
-

* "Dead, my darlin , as the Nited
States Bank !" observed Larkspur,
with whiskey punch beaming from
every line of his face. " And a deader
thing than that I don t know; it s
about the deadest thing as is ; that s a
fact !"

Bess silently led the girls up stairs.
The same shudder thrilled through
every heart as they entered the Ghost-
Chamber. Two formal wax candles
gave a dim light to the place. The
massive bed, with its thick curtains,
still stood in one corner, the high-
backed chairs had been replaced in
their positions against the wall ; the
mir /or between the windows still

flashed oack the light of the candles
The room was the same as in rh
morning ; the furniture still wore the
same antique and ghostly air ; and the
portrait above the mantel, still gazed
around the place with its pale and
beautiful countenance relieved by
sweeping tresses of long black bair
and enlivened by the gleam of lustrous
dark eyes.

The Ghost-Room was the same,
and yet not altogether the same.
There was a crust of hardened blood
congealed along the cold bricks of the
fireplace ; the very air seemed tainted
with the smell of human blood, shed
in violence and murder.

In the centre of the chamber, in the
full glare of the light, rested a coffin
covered with a plain cloth, and placed
upon tressels of sabel wood. The
glare of the light flashed over the de
tails of the cold white shroud, the stiff
hands carefully crossed over each
other, the feet thrusting the death robe
slightly upward, all were painfully
disclosed, but the face was covered
with a loose piece of snowy linen.
Mangled, and shattered, and crushed,
it was too fearful a sight for the eyes
of the living to behold, and yet was it
not tenfold more horrible to see thai
white cloth thrown over the face, leav
ing the vivid fancy to depict the loath
some reality, than to look upon the
palpable reality itself? To fancy thn
cold blood falling drop by drop upor
the bottom of the coffin, from the hoi
low skull !

There she lay, her gold forgotten,
her blood cold and icy, her limbs
stiffened as marble. And as the Hgbl
flickered with an uncertain glare, ind
as the wind moaned tSrc .g? *&gt;

293

MABEL.

crevices of the chamber, and as the
hangings of tho bed and the windows
rustled heavily to and fro, while from
the frame of the portrait, the face of
a beautiful woman gazed sadly upon
the scene, it seemed as though an
awful and invisible fiend had infected"
the very air with a curse. That fiend
was Murder ; in the rustling curtains,
in the moaning wind, in the flickering
light, in the sad gaze of the portrait,
in the spectacle of the coffin and the
corse; in all these he spoke with a
voice that froze the blood in its career,
and stilled the heart in its beatings.

" Behold your mother !" cried Bess,
in a tone of wild agitation, as seizing
Mabel by the hand she pointed to the
portrait. " Behold your mother ! You
are the child of Livingstone the mer
chant; this house and all its contents
are yours ! Yours by the will of yon
murdered woman, who rests cold and
icy in her coffin. Behold the face of
your mother, gazing upon you in
kindness and love. Kneel, Mabel,
kneel, and thank your God that after
the long night which has darkened
your life, the day has dawned at
last!"

And while Mabel stood stricken
dumb with astonishment, while her
brain whirled in wild confusion, and
the very room seemed to reel around
her, Bess turned aside and took Mary
by the hand.

" Now hear the dark confession
svhich I have to whisper to your ear,"
ehe shrieked, falling on her knees.
" I was the cause of your ruin ; I was
the accomplice of the seducer; I took
his wages ; and earned them by selling
myself, body and soul into his hands !
I, it was, that lured you from your

home, I, it was, that led you on to nun
my soul is blackened by the full
guilt of a crime than which hell can
name no deed of darker horror.

" Hear this confession and hear my
fixed resolve ! Spurn me from you,
trample on me, curse me, oh cu~se
me, but from your side living I will
never depart ! You do not wish to re
turn to your father s house. I will
slave for you, work for you, beg for
you ! Let me wash out some portion
of my crime by a life-long devotion iu
your service. Curse me, Mary, spit
upon me, Mary, spurn me as the base
thing I am, should be spurned, but I
am your slave through life my crime
shall be washed out in tears of blood !"

Vain were the power of language
to paint the horror which paled the
face of Mary Arlington as this dark
confession fell shrieking on her ear.
She looked vacantly in the face of the
kneeling woman, she even toyed play
fully with her long dark hair, and
then she gave utterance to a wild and
maniac laugh.

" Lorraine," she cried, " Lorraine,
ha, ha, ha! He will return at last,
he will yet be mine ! Lorraine ! Lor.
raine !"

CHAPTER THIRTEENTH.

THE GOLD WHICH DEVIL-BUG WOK.

SLOWLY and silently Devil-Bug as-
cended the staircase of Monk-Hall,
The lamp which he held extended af
arm s length cast a flaring light over
his distorted face, now rendered len-
fold more hideous by the tokens of

THE GOLD WHICH DEVIL BUG WON.

299

some terrible emotion. He had bitten
his upper lip until the blood trickled
over his clenched teeth, down to his
pointed chin. There was a glassy
light in his solitary eye, and a lower
ing frown, full, of omen, upon his pro
tuberant brow.

Slowly and silently, with the light
in his hand, he ascended the massive
staircase of Monk-Hall. He uttered
no word, but fearful thoughts we^e
working at his heart. One hour ago,

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Full text of "The Quaker City; or, The Monks of Monk Hall: a Romance of Philadelphia Life, Mystery, and Crime"

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